| CMU Daily - on the inside Wednesday 9th April |
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In today's CMU Daily:
- Pete Doherty sent back to prison
- Glastonbury registration re-opened
- Eminem's mum sued
- Braxton hospitalised
- Kylie was misdiagnosed
- Ono, Martin and Townshend pay respects to former Apple Corps chief
- Lloyd Webber to get Classical Brit lifetime achievement gong
- Metal Hammer shortlist some gods
- Manics may look to Holy Bible for inspiration for new LP
- Emma gets hip hop remake
- National release film
- New Daedelus incoming
- Stone Temple Pilots give live preview
- Domino re-release Liquid Liquid
- Will.i.am teams up with Girl Aloud
- Lykke Li announces album release
- Bestival headliners announced
- Death Cab announce further UK dates
- Mcfly to play forest
- New service helps you track the video-web
- Ericsson and Carphone Warehouse launch hip hop phone
- Wal-Mart push Mariah and Bryan
- Slacker get deals with major publishers
- Runrig MP calls for government to get tough on ISPs
- BBC / ISP row brews over high demand created by iPlayer
- Global network more shows
- Celeb blogger to do ITV column
- Ting Ting said no to FHM
- Pavarotti mimed final performance
- Jagger not musical, says Richards
- Metal Hammer Golden Gods nominations in full
- Classic Brits nominations in full
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TOP BIT
So, an update on the thing I was rambling on about in the CMU Top Bit right here yesterday morning. As you'll all remember, because you read the Top Bit religiously, obviously, yesterday we returned to the topic of the private copy exception in sound recording copyrights, and of the private copy levy.
To update you in as few words as is possible, at the moment if you make a private copy of a CD you are technically infringing a record label's copyright and could be sued for infringement. That's a stupid law, and the recent Gowers Review of intellectual property laws proposed scrapping it - ie by introducing a so called 'private copy exception' which allows people to make second copies of music they buy, providing that it's genuinely for personal and private use. Simple. Such an exception already exists in many other countries, though in some a levy has traditionally been charged on the sale of blank cassettes and CDRs to compensate artists for allowing private copies to be made. Few people in the UK music industry oppose the concept of the private copy exception, but whether or not a levy should be introduced to compensate is open to debate. Gowers says no there shouldn't be, but some in the industry say yes there should. As we polemicised at great length yesterday, CMU's opinion is that a levy would be messy - mainly because logic dictates it would have to be applied to MP3 players, given that that's where many people make their private copies these days, and the so called iPod tax is a messy area to get into, because it will pitch the music industry against the PR machines of Apple et al, who are sure to resist any levy.
Well, all this is newsworthy again because the Music Business Group, the trade body set up to represent all the other music industry trade bodies (on the occasions where they agree on things), is about to submit its feedback on the aforementioned Gowers Review to government, which will include its views on the private copy exception and the levy.
And from what I now understand the MBG will [a] approve the exception and [b] do so without calling for a levy. So that's good. PR disaster avoided. Hopefully. They are, however, proposing conditions on the exception, conditions that will bring the music companies a new revenue stream in return for allowing the private copying. Their proposal is that, rather than a compulsory levy that all manufacturers have to pay whatever, the manufacturers of the digital music players will be invited to voluntarily pay a 'licence fee' to the music industry for each music player sold, and in return they will be able to put logo on the side of their product basically saying 'private copying licensed - artist compensated' (or words to that effect). The scheme would mean that, in theory, private copies could be made on those players with the licence logo, and not those without, though obviously that would be pretty hard to regulate.
The aim, presumably, is to get compensation for artists and labels and publishers in return for the exception, but to try and do so in the least confrontational way - to avoid all those "music industry screws even more money out of the consumer" headlines Apple's PR team would probably start placing if the music companies pushed for a compulsory levy.
It's an interesting idea, that is for certain - and I look forward to reading more about it when the MBG formally announce their proposals this week. Though the whole thing obviously depends on the digital music player manufacturers playing ball - and that really means on Apple playing ball - and I'm not 100% convinced they will. Or even 40% convinced for that matter. The positive thing is that this proposal will hopefully not generate the kind of bad PR an all out push for a compulsory levy probably would, though it does run the risk of stopping the music companies from benefiting from some much needed positive PR - the "music industry acts to make law more consumer friendly without asking for anything in return" story. Which I think is a shame. But, it is an interesting proposal, and it will be interesting to see how Apple et al respond.
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JOBS N STUFF
PRESS OFFICER, FORMULA ONE
Near Oxford - £Competitive
You could be jetting off around the world to be the public face of this giant in Formula One at Grand Prix! We are on the hunt for a Press Officer to join our communications team. You will have the responsibility to prioritise and manage all media enquiries and to co-ordinate major projects. You must be an experienced consumer PR practitioner, with some experience at a PR agency. You must be fluent in at least one European language or Japanese and be educated to degree level. To apply, send your CV and a covering letter stating your current salary and why you are the right person for this role to [email protected] quoting reference SS14
NEW MEDIA COORDINATOR
Cherry Red Records, a West London based independent record company founded 30 years ago, is looking for a New Media Coordinator to look after it's fast growing catalogue. The ideal candidate would be very organised, have good initiative, a decent level of new media knowledge, and a genuine affinity with, and enthusiasm for, the unique and very diverse Cherry Red catalogue. Please write with a detailed CV and name your favourite Cherry Red album to [email protected]
KUDOS RECORDS REQUIRES A SALES AND LABEL MANAGER
Based in our busy Kentish Town office, core responsibilities include developing our distribution roster, project managing releases for our distributed labels, and maintaining sales to a selection of UK and overseas accounts. The successful candidate will be scrupulously organised and an effective communicator. He or she will posses relevant industry experience, a genuine enthusiasm for the music we distribute, along with a passion for discovering new music. Salary will be based on experience. We also offer a generous performance related bonus scheme. Application by email only, attaching a copy of your CV to [email protected].
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SNAP OF THE DAY: THE LOOSE SALUTE
Formed whilst their principle songwriter, Ian McCutcheon, remained a working member of alt-country outfit Mojave 3, it took the hiatus of that project for The Loose Salute to take centre stage and get round to producing their first album, 'Tuned To Love', a record that divides time between lugubrious harmonies, banjo twiddling and summery pop. These contrasting styles are no better exemplified than when comparing 'From Head To Sandy Toes' and highlight 'Why'd We Fight', with 'FHTST' being a gloriously uptempo ode to beaches, surfing and the sun, and 'WWF' a melancholic, slow-paced ditty that's coated with the hushed country tones of singer Lisa Billson. Fans of The Bees, Beachwood Sparks and The Monkees will approve of the offerings at the link below.
http://www.myspace.com/therealloosesalute
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PETE DOHERTY SENT BACK TO PRISON
Ah, it's been a while since CMU's Doherty Desk has been providing the lead story. They're back in business today because the Babyshambler in chief, Mr Pete Doherty, has been jailed - pretty much out of the blue - for 14 whole weeks, seemingly for violating his probation and for using drugs.
As previously reported, the singer was given a suspended sentence for possession of drugs and driving illegally last October and ordered to take part in a drug rehabilitation programme, as well as to make regular visits to court to give progress reports. It would seem he failed to do one or all of those things because yesterday afternoon Judge Davinder Lachar - whose viewpoint on Doherty always seemed to be less forgiving than that of Judge Jane McIvor, who presided for many of the Babyshambler's previous run-ins with the law - handed down a custodial sentence at West Ealing Magistrates Court.
A spokesman for the court told reporters that Doherty had been jailed for "breach of time keeping, non-compliance of his order and using different drugs".
This means that Doherty's planned performance at the Royal Albert Hall on 26 Apr has had to be moved - it will now take place in Common Room 7 in wing 4 of Wormwood Scrubs. No, not really, it will be postponed to a date tbc later in the year, at which all tickets for the 26 Apr date will be valid. Commenting on the postponement, a spokesperson for Parlophone Records said: "Peter was very much looking forward to the show and would like to offer his sincerest apologies to all his fans and to all those concerned".
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GLASTONBURY REGISTRATION RE-OPENED
So, with tickets still on sale, Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis yesterday announced he was offering festival-goers a second chance to register to buy tickets for this year's festival.
As you'll know, in order to buy a Glasto ticket you need to pre-register with the festival - a move designed to stop ticket touts from buying up tickets for resale. In theory you were meant to pre-register before the middle of March, ie before tickets went on sale. But with thousands of tickets left for sale, registration has now been reopened, presumably on the basis that a certain number of festival-goers will have failed to register first time round not because they didn't want to go but because they were under the impression they'd never be able to get a ticket.
Eavis told reporters: "We've had a lot of enquiries from people asking if they can register, especially now they realise it's still possible to buy tickets. This will give them the chance to see the best line-up of any festival this summer".
So, if you didn't register first time round and now you want to, you need to go to http://www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk and fill out the form. Once you have completed the process, you will be sent a link immediately allowing you to purchase tickets. Be quick, though - they're sure to sell like, erm, lukewarm cakes.
Meanwhile, everyone continues to have an opinion on why Glasto hasn't sold out in minutes this time as it has in the past few years. Roger Daltrey, whose band The Who headlined last year's Glastonbury, has been giving the NME his thoughts, and he says: "I blame the weather and line-up. I take my hat off to those people who were there last year. I wouldn't have paid money to go and live like that for three days, to suffer like that. It's such an expensive festival too - SO expensive".
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EMINEM'S MUM SUED
Debbie Nelson, the mother of rapper Eminem, is being sued, although not by Eminem himself for once.
Neal Alpert and the Rachel Erin Corporation launched a breach of contract suit on Monday (7 Apr) over Nelson's recently published book 'My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem: Setting The Record Straight On My Life As Eminem's Mother'.
The lawsuit claims that Nelson entered into a contract in November 2005 agreeing to let Alpert act as her exclusive agent for various radio, book, TV and motion picture deals, in return for 25% of the gross profits, but that she then developed and wrote 'My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem' without Alpert's knowledge, after entering into an agreement with another agent in July 2006.
According to the lawsuit, the book, initially released in the UK in September 2007 and due for its US release this week, has so far sold more than 100,000 copies, yet neither Alpert nor the Rachel Erin Company have received any commission.
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BRAXTON HOSPITALISED
R&B star Toni Braxton was rushed to a Las Vegas hospital yesterday, reportedly after suffering from chest pains earlier in the day. Braxton is known to suffer from a heart condition called Pericarditis and there have been some reports that the singer suffered a heart attack, though those reports have not been confirmed. Other reports suggest she is now doing fine after the scare, and will be discharged from hospital later today. Braxton is in Las Vegas because she has a residency at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino.
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KYLIE WAS MISDIAGNOSED
Kylie Minogue has revealed in an interview with US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres that doctors initially failed to diagnose her with breast cancer, after tests during her 2005 Showgirl tour showed that she was perfectly healthy.
She said: "Listen, this is an opportunity for me to say something that I have not said before. I was misdiagnosed initially. I had just had a mammogram and they didn't find anything and a couple of weeks later I found a lump. Because someone is in a white coat and using big medical instruments doesn't necessarily mean they're right".
The singer warned other women to follow their intuition and demand a second opinion if necessary. "I don't want to say that to frighten people but that's just a fact. You must follow your intuition and if you have any doubt go back again", she said.
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ONO, MARTIN AND TOWNSHEND PAY RESPECTS TO FORMER APPLE CORPS CHIEF
Yoko Ono, producer George Martin and The Who's Pete Townshend were among those who attended a West London funeral for former Beatles business chief Neil Aspinall earlier this week. As previously reported, Aspinall, who ran the Beatles' company Apple Corps for over 35 years, died last month - it is thought he was suffering from lung cancer. Ringo Starr was not seen at the private service, though his wife Barbara Bach was in attendance. Paul McCartney was not able to attend, being out of the country just now, but his daughter Stella represented the McCartney family instead.
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LLOYD WEBBER TO GET CLASSICAL BRIT LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT GONG
This will please the classical music purists. Andrew Lloyd Webber will be given the Outstanding Achievement Prize at this year's Classical Brits, in recognition of his achievements in getting free prime time advertising for this theatre projects on the BBC. Oh, and for writing some music and musicals and stuff. And for that Hollyoaks cameo, obviously. The composer and theatre producer said he was "absolutely thrilled" and "delighted" to be chosen for the gong. The Classical Brits take place at the Albert Hall on 8 May (assuming they don't get put in jail beforehand). A full list of nominees is at the bottom of today's Daily.
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METAL HAMMER SHORTLIST SOME GODS
More awards for you now, and Metal Hammer have announced details about this year's Golden Gods event, their annual awards bash, which takes place on 16 Jun in the O2 complex, and which this year will be hosted by Oderus Urungus from "legendary metal crew" GWAR. MTV 2 and Xfm have both been confirmed as media partners. You'll find a full list of those nomination type things at the bottom of today's CMU Daily.
Commenting on this year's awards, Metal Hammer Publisher Chris Ingham told CMU: "The sixth annual Golden Gods are going to be the biggest show we've ever put on. We're proud to be bringing metal to the O2 for the first time and we know that the scale of the production is going to blow people's minds. It's fantastic that MTV Two continues to support the Gods across Europe and we are delighted to welcome Xfm back into the Golden Gods family".
If you want to vote in the reader voted awards, you can do so at http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/gods
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MANICS MAY LOOK TO HOLY BIBLE FOR INSPIRATION FOR NEW LP
The Manics' Nicky Wire has said the band's ninth album could see a return to the sound of their third long player, 'The Holy Bible', which is still seen as the band's musical peak by some. He told BBC 6 Music that no songs had been completed for the new album, but that they had lots of ideas of how it should sound.
Wire: "We're itching - I know James has got loads of stuff written in his head. I can hear him in practice and it sounds like he's gone to a kind of riff-tastic place. A kind of, I dunno, heavy rock version of 'The Holy Bible' seems to be going on musically for him - but we haven't actually written anything at the moment".
Asked about that seminal long player, he continued: "I think really, from 'The Holy Bible' to the release even of 'Design For Life' we were pretty untouchable. 'Holy Bible' does stand alone as a band reclaiming its utter soul".
As to why the band rarely perform tracks off the third album when playing live, he concluded: "It's awkward - you have to be in a mental state of ferocious animosity and kind of bewilderment. It's the only time I feel slightly wrong or fake about doing stuff because you've just really got to feel that way. That album is as much of a mental state as it is a piece of music".
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EMMA GETS HIP HOP REMAKE
Sony Pictures owned film outfit Screen Gems has announced it is developing a hip hop version of Jane Austen's 'Emma' which, the company's CEO says, he had the idea for after seeing the video to rising US rapper Lil Mama's 2007 hit 'Lipgloss'. The screenplay for the film, which has a working title of 'Emme', is being written by Tyger Williams and will see the classic story moved to an inner-city American high school and will revolve around a step brother and sister. I can't quite make out whether Lil Mama will be involved in anyway in the actual film. Her debut album 'Voice Of The Young People' is out in the US later this month.
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NATIONAL RELEASE FILM
A film about American indie rockers The National will be released next month, complete with a bonus CD called 'The Virgina EP'. That CD will feature 12 demos, live tracks, b-sides and radio sessions, which is hardly an EP, but we won't dwell on that. The film, 'A Skin, A Night', was made by French filmmaker Vincent Moon, and was filmed while the band recorded their fourth album 'Boxer'. Tracks on the bonus not-really-an-EP include:
You've Done It Again, Virginia (previously unreleased)
Santa Clara (UK B-Side)
Blank Slate (UK B-side)
Tall Saint (demo)
Without Permission (unreleased cover)
Forever After Days (demo)
Rest Of Years (demo)
Slow Show (demo)
Lucky You (Daytrotter Session)
Mansion On The Hill (live)
Fake Empire (live)
About Today (live)
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NEW DAEDELUS INCOMING
Ninja Tune will release a new album from Alfred 'Daedelus' Darlington on 16 Jun, and have just sent over a nonsense filled press release about it which I'm going to re-publish in full because [a] I am really excited about this album, [b] Daedelus was lovely when I interviewed him at the recent Remix AllNighter and [c] I love a bit of nonsense on a Wednesday morning.
So, here goes. What follows is copyright Ninja Tune fiction department...
"1893. Chicago. The World's Fair to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America opens. In the entourage of one Nikola Tesla, the renegade pioneer of modern electricity, travels Alfred Darlington, a young inventor from Los Angeles.
On only the second day of the fair, Darlington is electrocuted in a terrible accident, pronounced dead and taken to the morgue. Two days later, an attendant there hears knocking from one of the drawers where the corpses are kept. Armed with a shotgun and whisky he opens the drawer to find the young Alfred not only alive and well but babbling about a future worlds he has visited and asking that everyone now calls him "DAEDELUS".
Tesla, both relieved that the boy has survived and embarrassed by the accident, allows him the run of his workshops. Over the next six months of the Fair, he devotes his time to building strange electronic instruments and on the very last night of the Fair presents the 'Love To Make Music To Symphony', which, he claims, is the sound he heard in the future.
The events of the performance are shrouded in secrecy - widely believed to be a result of a cover-up by government and the vested commercial interests who had most to gain from the Fair's success. The few reports which have filtered out say that people go mad as they listen to the strange, alien sounds the young composer describes as "music", that they scream, laugh, pull off their clothes, have sex with each other and themselves, fall into reveries and shout of "the hills, the beautiful hills". Daedelus himself is dragged from the stage and detained indefinitely in a mental hospital in Chicago and stays there until his mysterious disappearance on May 29th 1913, incidentally the night of the riots in Paris at the first performance of Stravinsky's Rites of Spring.
But for another twist the story would have ended there. However, Dr John Thompsock of the Chicago Ultra-Arts & Science-head Institute and one of the greatest living Tesla-ologists is lucky enough to obtain a cache of Tesla's papers from a shadowy Eastern European in 1999. In amongst them he finds a cylinder disk. On playing it, he discovers that it contains the only recording made of Daedelus' first and last performance.
Digitized and cleaned of crackle, pops, and shorn of 45 minutes of detuned primitive oscillator noise, this is the performance [on this album]. Almost as strange as the day it was first performed and as liable to bring on what we can only describe as "sexual fever". To ease you through - and hopefully hold the fever at bay - this version features commentary from a number of leading scientists including Om'mas Keith and Taz of the Sa-Ra Foundation, plus (Dr) Michael Johnson, (Prof) N'fa, Paperboy (Mphil), (Dr) Erika Rose and (Prof) Laura Darling (of the Long Lost Institute). Of more than academic interest, this should still appeal to all aficionado's of Very Very Late Victorian Music".
So, there you have it.
Anyway, Daedelus' 'Love To Make Music To' will be out via Ninja on 16 Jun, and there'll be a launch party for it on 23 May at Corsica Studios in London, where Daedelus will be revived from his grave, presumably, to headline, with support from Cadence Weapon (Live), Capitol K (Live), Rustie, Zilla, Patchwork Pirates and Etan. Continuing a theme, we're told if you dress as a Victorian Dandy you'll get some free absinthe! Press info from Ninja Tune, more info from http://www.ninjatune.net, presumably.
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STONE TEMPLE PILOTS GIVE LIVE PREVIEW
The reunited Stone Temple Pilots played a greatest hits set at an intimate gig in LA on Monday night, an event designed to promote that previously reported 65 date "Fuck Velvet Revolver" US tour. Chief Pilot and no-longer-Velvet-Revolver-frontman Scott Weiland told the mainly industry audience: "None of us will wax poetically, we'll just bash each other with guitars and mic stands". The tour kicks off on 17 May.
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DOMINO RE-RELEASE LIQUID LIQUID
Now, Liquid Liquid. I'm loathe to say "they're the band who provided the bass line on Melle Mel's 'White Lines (Don't Do It)" because that's what everyone says. This New York outfit were only active for three years right at the start of the eighties, but they garnered plenty of critical acclaim as well as providing the killer sample for one of hip hop's first big mainstream hits (especially in the UK). If you want to familiarise yourselves with their work, well Domino are releasing a new album called 'Slip In And Out of Phenomenon' on 19 May which will include tracks from their three EPs plus some other rarities. You can pre-order copies at this URL - http://tinyurl.com/4sfnqx - press info from Domino.
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WILL.I.AM TEAMS UP WITH GIRL ALOUD
Black Eyed Peas man Will.I.Am has teamed up with Girls Aloud's Cheryl Cole for his latest single. I know, that's what I thought, too. As well as recording vocals for the song, 'Heartbreaker', Cole took time out from filming ITV reality show 'Passions Of Girls Aloud' to appear in the video. See how she fared here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OeLWMPOeg6I
'Heartbreaker', taken from Will.I.Am's third solo album 'Songs About Girls', is released on 5 May via Universal's Polydor Records.
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LYKKE LI ANNOUNCES ALBUM RELEASE
Swedish singer Lykke Li has announced that her debut album 'Youth Novels' will be released in the UK on 2 Jun, via her own LL Recordings label.
Here's the tracklist:
Melodies & Desires
Dance Dance Dance
I'm Good, I'm Gone
Let It Fall
My Love
Tonight
Little Bit
Hanging High
This Trumpet in My Head
Complained Department
Breaking It Up
Everybody But Me
Time Flies
Window Blues
She will also be performing around the UK on the following dates:
18 Apr: Camden Crawl, London
19 Apr: Camden Crawl, London
23 Apr: Manchester, Roadhouse
24 Apr: Glasgow, Admiral
25 Apr: Birmingham, Glee Club
28 Apr: London, Scala (supporting Sebastian Tellier)
Full tour dates for June will be announced shortly.
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BESTIVAL HEADLINERS ANNOUNCED
Oh this is exciting. Bestival's organisers have announced that Amy Winehouse and Underworld will respectively headline the Saturday and Sunday proceedings this year. Hurrah. And they've even got Mr Will Young to play their band stand - which I'm looking forward to, and I don't care who knows about it. Joining them at the festival's fifth birthday will be Hot Chip, The Sugarhill Gang, Chromeo, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Aphex Twin, My Bloody Valentine, Black Kids, The Coral and previously announced Friday headliner My Bloody Valentine.
Bestival's main man, Rob da Bank, had this to say: "It's such a nail biting experience unleashing our line up to the faithful Besti family but I can honestly say his year's line up is my favourite so far."
Check http://www.bestival.net for more details.
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DEATH CAB ANNOUNCE FURTHER UK DATES
Death Cab For Cutie have announced three new UK gigs in addition to their July appearance at Latitude and their sold-out date at London's Electric Ballroom on 6 May. The band are preparing for the release of their new album 'Narrow Stairs', out on 12 May, preceded by the release of single 'I Will Possess Your Heart' which is available digitally from 28 Apr and physically from 5 May.
The new dates are as follows:
5 Jul: Birmingham Academy
16 Jul: Manchester Apollo
17 Jul: London Brixton Academy
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MCFLY TO PLAY FOREST
Whoop whoop! McFly are to play one of the Forestry Commission's summer series of concerts, which is brilliant news. Their gig will take place at Thetford Forest, which is in an ideal location for me to attend. Although I probably won't because I think I might look a bit old and out of place. However, I've still not given up hope of attending a gig at Thetford. Anyway, McFly appear on 11 Jul and I think tickets are available now
The sad Forestry news, if you're a James Morrison fan, is that James Morrison has cancelled his appearance at Delamere Forest on 14 Jun (and the rest of his summer tour commitments as well, incidentally, apparently due to recording commitments for his next album). Refunds are available from point of sale.
For tickets and for more info on the Forestry's line up, which this year includes The Zutons, KT Tunstall, Status Quo, Jools Holland and The Charlatans, see www.forestry.gov.uk/music.
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NEW SERVICE HELPS YOU TRACK THE VIDEO-WEB
Yeah, I like this. vtap is a new service designed to help you trawl all the billions of videos out there on the net. Basically you tell it what artists you are interested in, and it then presents videos off YouTube, MySpace, Yahoo and so on all in one helpful list. And you can access said list via your PC or your mobile. It's very good for lazy people like me. To show you the sort of thing you might get in your list, vtap's lovely PR people have set up a CMU Daily feed based on some of the artists we've been writing about in the last week, and you can see how it's aggregated pop promos and other video clips and news items relating to them on this one page. Presumably the list updates as new content is posted on video sites relating to these artists. To be honest I've still to have a proper play with it, but it certainly looks like its worth checking out. I'd start here...
http://www.vtap.com/feeds/CMUDaily
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ERICSSON AND CARPHONE WAREHOUSE LAUNCH HIP HOP PHONE
Sony Ericsson and The Carphone Warehouse have teamed up with Universal's Def Jam Records to offer a special 'hip hop' walkman phone which will be white and gold, come with black and gold speakers, and will be pre-loaded with all kinds of Def Jam content. Plus, of course, users can them fill their phone with hip hop content from other labels by getting themselves an internet connection via Carphone Warehouse's Talk Talk and using it to download hip hop MP3s from P2P file sharing networks, because Talk Talk are big fans of all that.
Announcing the phone, Sony Ericsson's Head Of Marketing Dave Hilton told reporters: "As a powerful portable music device the W910i is the perfect suitor for a Def Jam makeover. The content Def Jam has supplied looks and sounds fantastic and somehow just fits perfectly with the white and gold exterior - we're hoping it will help make the W910i a Carphone Warehouse chart-topper".
Carphone Warehouse's George Dymond tore himself away from downloading the whole of Eminem's back catalogue off Limewire to add: "Our customers regularly tell us just how much they love music. Mobile Life* research reveals that nearly 40% of people download and listen to music on their mobiles rising to well over half of young people. We are excited to bring them such a great range of Def Jam content on the W910i".
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WAL-MART PUSH MARIAH AND BRYAN
Wal-Mart are pushing two Universal artists, while their previously reported spat with Warner and SonyBMG continues - as previously reported, lots of Warner and SonyBMG content has been taken off the US supermarket giant's download store, because they've gone all MP3 but are seemingly struggling to agree a licencing deal for DRM-free content with the two majors.
But while that's on the go, two Universal artists are getting a big push through the US supermarket, both online and in store. Mariah Carey's Island Def Jam album 'E=MC2' is being sold with a free interview and a free MP3 copy of single 'Touch My Body', while Bryan Adams' new album '11' (which still hasn't been released in the US) will be exclusively available via Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores when it is released there next month.
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SLACKER GET DEALS WITH MAJOR PUBLISHERS
Having more success with their major licensing deals (albeit of the publishing kind) is US internet radio service Slacker Radio, which has announced it now has licensing agreements in place with all four of the major publishing companies. The deals, with EMI Publishing, Universal Publishing, Warner/Chappell and Sony/ATV, enables the service to allow their users to personalise their own radio stations, and to transfer personal playlists to portable devices (DRM protected ala Napster) allowing on the move listening. Premium services also enable users to listen to tracks in their playlists on demand. Specifics of the deals with the publishers are not known, though it is thought to cover all their catalogues except those songs where specific songwriter contracts don't allow involvement in such services.
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RUNRIG MP CALLS FOR GOVERNMENT TO GET TOUCH ON ISPS
SNP MP Pete Wishart, the former Runrig keyboarder and the man behind that Private Members Bill pushing for an extension to the recording copyright term, has called on the government to get tough on the internet service providers after the owner of Carphone Warehouse and the Talk Talk internet service last week said he had no intention of helping the record companies police illegal online file sharing on a voluntary basis - as both the labels and government have proposed.
Wishart called the attitude of Talk Talk and other ISPs "belligerent" and added: "What I want to see is a timetable for totally binding voluntary regulation or for the government to bring forward detailed plans for legislation at the earliest opportunity to protect our artists and our creative industries. If ISPs are reluctant to help deal with illegal file sharers, then the government must act to oblige them. The government have challenged the ISPs to participate in voluntary regulation or face legislation. [Carphone Warehouse chief] Charles Dunstone has put up two fingers to the idea of a voluntary approach and the government must now respond".
He continued: "What we have got to remember is that this is illegal. Musicians and creators are being robbed and ripped off and others are profiting from their work. If Talk Talk were informed about sites that accommodated gangsterism or property theft, they would be obliged to take those sites down immediately. But as usual it's the same old tired response, that because it's music and intellectual property it's fair game. Musicians, artists and rights holders are sick of being treated like second class citizens in law".
The government has previously said that if the ISPs don't sign up to a voluntary agreement by next April they will legislate to force them to cooperate, though some in ISP-land don't seem too concerned serious new laws would come into effect anytime soon.
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BBC / ISP ROW BREWS OVER HIGH DEMAND CREATED BY IPLAYER
Talking of rows involved the ISPs, a bit of a row is brewing between the BBC and the internet service providers because of the success of the Beeb's rather good streaming telly-on-demand iPlayer. Some of the net companies say the high demand for the iPlayer is putting a strain on their networks and that some of their technology will need to be upgraded to cope. And they want the BBC to make a contribution. Needless to say, the BBC doesn't agree. The ISPs say that they may need to start 'squeezing' access to high capacity services because of the increase bandwidth demands of things like the iPlayer. The BBC responded by threatening to publish information on which ISPs provided the best access to their services (Virgin Media cable is probably always the best, if you can get it, my techie friends tell me). The ISPs - well, Tiscali's Simon Gunter - responded by saying "inflammatory comments about blacklisting ISPs do not help". So, as I said, a bit of a row. Perhaps record label chiefs and BBC bosses could get together for a 'why we hate ISPs' party.
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GLOBAL NETWORK MORE SHOWS
Global Radio have announced some changes to their current operations while they finalise their takeover bid for rivals GCap Media. Basically the radio firm will start networking daytime and weekend programming on its Heart and Galaxy stations, which will help reduce the costs of running the two networks.
Global Radio chief Ashley Tabor says this: "It will be national at the right time of day and local at the right time of day, offering people local programming when they really want it. What you end up with is a quasi-national radio station. People assume networking is about big name DJs. It's not, it's about quality presenters. If you take 50 different radio stations there cannot possibly be 50 good presenters at every station in a particular slot. Why not take the two or three quality class players and put them across the network".
I'd whine a little about the collapse of truly local radio in this country, but I'm bored about whining about such things. I just convince myself the growth in community radio will fill the void and train myself to stop thinking about this stuff.
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CELEB BLOGGER TO DO ITV COLUMN
American celebrity blogger Perez Hilton (real name Mario Lavandeira) is to write a column for the ITV website to promote ITV2 show 'Gossip Girl'. The star-loving chancer has also recently signed up for a regular slot on MTV's music and gossip show TRL, following his own reality show on VH1. There's also talk of him inflicting a covers album on us, but let's try and stay positive.
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TING TING SAID NO TO FHM
Ting Tings frontlady Katie White has told Gigwise that when her previous band Dear Eskiimo were signed to Mercury, she was asked if she would pose for FHM. "In our last band we were at Mercury and in the first ever meeting they brought that up. I was literally like fuck off!" she says. "It's the last thing on earth I would do."
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PAVAROTTI MIMED FINAL PERFORMANCE
Opera singer Luciano Pavarotti mimed during his final performance at the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006, according to a new book by his long-time pianist and collaborator Leone Magiera. According to Magiera, the performance of 'Nessun Dorma' was entirely pre-recorded: "The orchestra pretended to play for the audience, I pretended to conduct and Luciano pretended to sing. The effect was wonderful".
He adds that the reasoning behind the miming, obviously, was the singer's health. "It would have been too dangerous for him, because of his physical condition, to risk a live performance before a global audience".
As previously reported, Pavarotti died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Modena, Italy, shortly before his 72nd birthday in September 2007.
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JAGGER NOT MUSICAL, SAYS RICHARDS
According to reports, Keith Richards has said that Mick Jagger isn't very musical. I suppose he would know, given that the pair have been co-writing songs for the last forty years. Despite Jagger's input on some of the Rolling Stones' biggest hits Richards says this: "I'll play whatever Mick says he feels like singing that night. I might say, 'You realise, Mick, that you've got five songs in the same key'. But this is a musical thing and Mick is not very musical."
Richards does have some words of praise for his colleague, however. "Mick is very good at being Mick", he says.
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METAL HAMMER GOLDEN GODS NOMINATIONS IN FULL
Best UK Band: Iron Maiden, Bullet For My Valentine, Paradise Lost, Saxon, Judas Priest
Best Live Band: Gallows, Machine Head, Megadeth, Arch Enemy, Turisas
Shredder: Alexi Laiho (Children Of Bodom), Dan Donegan (Disturbed), Jesper Stromblad (In Flames), Dino Cazares (Divine Heresy), Mike Amott (Arch Enemy)
Breakthrough Artist: Still Remains, Apocalyptica, Devildriver, Every Time I Die, Bloodsimple
Riff Lord: Slash (Velvet Revolver), Ace Frehley (ex-Kiss), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), Jon Shaffer (Iced Earth)
Best Underground Band: Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster, Black Dhalia Murder, Municipal Waste, Gallhammer, Trigger The Bloodshed
Best International Band: Nightwish, Avenged Sevenfold, In Flames, Down, Dir En Grey
Best Video: Himsa - Unleash Carnage, Goat The Head - Darwinian Minions, Bullet For My Valentin - Scream Aim Fire, As I Lay Dying - Nothing Left, Dimmu Borgir - The Serpentine Offering
Best Metal Label: Roadrunner, Metal Blade, Century Media, Nuclear Blast, SPV, Spinefarm
Best Album: Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold, Down - III: Over The Under, Children Of Bodom - Blooddrunk, Atreyu - Leads Sails Paper Anchor, Testament - The Formation of Damnation
Incoming! Best New Band: Baroness - The Red Album, Evile - Enter The Grave, Engel - Absolute Design', Airbourne - Runnin' Wild, Suicide Silence - The Cleansing
Inspiration Award: Carcass, Nine Inch Nails, Kiss, Meshuggah, Slipknot
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CLASSIC BRITS NOMINATIONS IN FULL
Male Artist of the Year:
Alfie Boe
Rolando Villazon
Sir Colin Davis
Female Artist of the Year:
Angela Hewitt
Anna Netrebko
Natalie Clein
NS&I Album of the Year
Alfie Boe - Onward (EMI Classics)
All Angels - Into Paradise (Universal/UCJ)
Blake - Blake (Universal/UCJ)
Choirboys - The Carols Album (Universal/UCJ)
Fron Male Voice Choir - Voices of the Valley Encore (Universal/UCJ)
Gardar Thor Cortes - Cortes (Believer Music)
Hayley Westenra - Treasure (Universal/Decca)
Ludovico Einaudi - Divenire (Universal/Decca)
Natasha Marsh - Amour (EMI Classics)
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards - Spirit of the Glen (Universal/UCJ)
Young British Classical Performer or Group
Kate Royal
Lawrence Power
Nicola Benedetti
Soundtrack of the Year
Dario Marianelli - Atonement (Universal/UCJ)
James Newton Howard - Blood Diamond (Varese Sarabande)
Craig Armstrong/Ar Rahman - Elizabeth - The Golden Age (Universal/UCJ)
Critics' Award
ENO Chorus and Orchestra Sir Charles Mackerras BC - Janácek: The Makropulos Case (Chandos)
Pavel Haas Quartet - Janácek: Quartet No 1/Pavel Haas:Quartets Nos 1& 3 (Supraphon)
Steven Isserlis - Bach: Cello Suites (Hyperion)