Established in 2001, Leyline lists a catalogue of successful PR and marketing campaigns spanning almost ten years on behalf of record labels (major and independent), festivals, radio stations, major club nights, venues and artists. As a small but highly skilled company, Leyline Publicity deliver challenging and intelligent PR campaigns across a variety of platforms including; Regional and national press, online and viral marketing, blog engagement and online video placement. In addition, drawing upon years of experience working within the live sector as one of the capitals leading independent promoters, Leyline offers much more than other traditional music PR company's can in terms of facilitating live placements for album launches, tours and festivals including an in depth knowledge of live marketing, promotions and production.

Clients including Xfm, Red Bull, EA Games, Standon Calling, The Holloways, Bent, Hervé, My Toys Like Me, The Glade Festival, Sony Ericsson have chosen Leyline because of our reputation for innovative ideas, meticulous planning and ability to deliver on time and in budget! If you have any PR, marketing or promotional requirements in the near future, please do not hesitate to contact us! Email [email protected] or call 020 7575 3285

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DESK SPACE TO RENT IN SHOREDITCH
A bright Shoreditch third floor 4 desk unit, ideal for a start-up. You'll be sharing with 4 other small media enterprises (film, publishing, PR and design). The space comes with four desks, chairs and shelving units and is ready for you to move in today. Office has internet, wifi and is fully air-conditioned. In a very desirable location 5 minutes from Liverpool Street station and 10 minutes from Old Street station. Rent is £250 per desk, per month, including rates and service charge. Please contact  [email protected]

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FILM PRODUCTION STUDIO TO RENT IN SHOREDITCH
A fully equipped film production studio in the heart of Shoreditch. An ideal temporary studio to meet all your freelance and overspill needs, with access to 2 cameras (Z1E and HC1E) with 2 sound kits, an HD edit suite with FCP Studio 2, HD deck, HD monitor and sound station. Full specs available on request. Includes a working space for up to four people. The space with production and post-production equipment is £200 per day, minimum hire of three days; 7 days is charged at 5 days. Discounts available for hire of 4 weeks plus. Please contact [email protected] or 07809601366.

MANDELSON PROPOSES FINES FOR FILE-SHARERS
So, first the government talked tough about combating illegal file-sharing, and implied something nearing the infamous three-strike system may be on their agenda, then they went all cold on the proposals and sidelined them to an after thought in their 'Digital Britain' report.

But now Business Secretary Peter Mandelson is talking about introducing mandatory fines for those who persistently share unlicensed content online, and giving the courts the power to disconnect file-sharers. Rumour had it that Mandy had had a sudden change of opinion on this issue after having dinner with David Geffen - he of Geffen Records - although a spokesperson has denied this.

Mandelson is reportedly pushing for people found guilty of file-sharing to be given a fixed fine of £50,000 and have their broadband connection cut off. Quite how they'd be 'found guilty' - ie whether that relies on content owners taking civil action, or whether he's thinking of some sort of piracy police style government agency - isn't clear. But when challenged with the allegations he'd had a sudden change of heart after being lobbied by Geffen, Mandelson's people insisted that the Business Secretary's opinions were formed as a result of the aforementioned 'DigiBrit' report. Which is an interesting reading of said report.

Mandelson's proposals have not met with immediate support from all in the Labour party though. Former digital enhancement minister Tom Watson put forward the argument often presented by the internet service providers in this debate, arguing: "Challenged by the revolutionary distribution mechanism that is the internet, big publishers are seeing their power and profits diminish. Faced with the choice of accepting this and innovating or, King Canute-style, staying the tide of change, they're choosing the latter option and looking to parliament for help with some sandbags".

He added: "Not only do the sanctions ultimately risk criminalising a large proportion of UK citizens, but they also attach an unbearable burden on an emerging technology that has the power to transform society, with no guarantees at the end that our artists and our culture will get any richer".

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JACKSON MERCH DEAL APPROVED, EXHIBITION QUESTIONED, AND BIRTHDAY BURIAL ANNOUNCED
A judge in LA has approved that deal for the sale of Michael Jackson merchandise, following a similar ruling on a documentary film about the rehearsals for the singer's ill-fated O2 residency. A final ruling on a travelling exhibition of Jackson's possession will be made later this week.

The newly approved deal between merchandising company Bravado, concert promoters AEG Live and Jackson's estate is - officially - an attempt to combat the rise of counterfeit merchandise going on sale since the singer's death. Cynics might argue it's also an attempt to get some money in the bank before the late king of pop's creditors come knocking. The deal will presumably open the floodgates for endless amounts of tat with Jacko's face on (though which face remains to be seen), although I'm sure everything will all be done in the best possible taste. On its website, Bravado promises that it "develops and markets high-quality licensed merchandise to a worldwide audience" and creates "innovative products carefully tailored to each artist or brand".

But a few t-shirts and a lunchbox or two is nothing. We want to see Jacko's actual belongings, and we want them to be brought to a town near us. This is exactly what is being proposed in the final deal between AEG and Jackson's estate awaiting approval.

However, the singer's mother, good ole Katherine Jackson, has raised concerns over the project. She has questioned whether a travelling exhibition of stuff that Jacko had in his house is really the best thing for his legacy, and also questioned the split of profits with AEG.

Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff has scheduled a hearing for Friday to discuss these matters. However, if Jackson's mother can delay it long enough, her problems might be solved anyway. One of AEG's lawyers, Kathy Jorrie, has said that there is a tight deadline to get things moving (both figuratively and physically) and that the company's interest in the project may wane if is not approved soon.

Meanwhile, Jackson's father Joe has announced that his son will be buried on what would have been his 51st birthday, 29 Aug. The singer will finally be laid to rest just over two months after his death at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in LA.

There were rumours earlier this month that Michael had already been buried in an unmarked grave (so as to stop fans digging him up) at a private ceremony in the same cemetery. This was denied by Joe last week, though.

With security fears reportedly surrounding the burial (I think there are genuine fears that a fan might dig him up), it's always possible this is a red herring and that Jacko's body has already been dumped in the sea. Maybe not. But maybe.

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BBC TO AIR UNSEEN BEATLES FOOTAGE
I'm not really sure how exciting unseen footage of The Beatles really is. I mean, there's a lot of footage out there already. And there's a lot of it I haven't seen. A lot of the stuff I have seen was a bit rubbish, too. Still, let's not put a dampener on this straight off, I'm sure the BBC have dug up something brilliant for this new documentary, which will air as part of its Beatles Week on BBC2 and BBC4 in September.

The documentary in question is called 'The Beatles On Record' and focuses on their history in the studio. It will contain unreleased out-takes from interviews recorded in Abbey Road studios.

BBC controller for Knowledge Commissioning, George Entwistle said: "This is a great chance for viewers to enjoy some rare footage and fascinating insights into the career of the greatest pop group of all time".

Beatles Week will air from 5 Sep and will feature a whole load of tedious sounding documentaries with titles like 'The Beatles: The First US Visit' and 'How The Beatles Rocked The Kremlin'.

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'GIRL' IS NOT A GENRE, SAYS LITTLE BOOTS
Little Boots has said that people should stop talking about women in the music industry as one group. She made the comment when asked by Sky News, though I'm sure she's asked it several times daily, about what she thought of women taking over the music industry, with artists such as herself and La Roux cracking the charts and the NME appointing its first female editor.

She said: "It's kind of bad - a girl isn't some kind of genre you know. The exciting thing is that everyone's really different and people should embrace that".

Ignoring that, Sky News ploughed on with its claims that women are taking over music, speaking next to incoming NME editor Krissi Murison about her new role. She said: "Obviously it is long overdue - the magazine is nearly 60 years old, and I am the first female editor, so yeah it is about time. But also I don't want to get too bogged down. I got this job for many reasons, and none of them at all had anything to do with my gender".

The main basis for the report, apart from Murison being made editor of the NME, seems to be that five female solo artists have been nominated in this year's Mercury Prize. Murison said, apparently in response to this, but possibly not: "For the first time in a while, women are actually breaking into the mainstream. The real story right now is, where are all the boys?"

Well, aside from Glasvegas drummer Caroline McKay, 'the boys' make up the 26 other musicians collectively nominated for the Mercury. I'm not saying that women aren't getting more prominent jobs in the industry (Kerrang! have just appointed their second female editor remember) but let's not pat ourselves on the back about a revolution in equality just yet, eh?

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BOBBY BROWN IN TROUBLE AGAIN
An arrest warrant has been issued for singer Bobby Brown after he failed to appear at a court hearing in Massachusetts. He will be arrested next time he enters the US state.

Brown was due in court to face accusations that he has fallen behind with child support payments to his former girlfriend Kim Ward, with whom he has two teenage children. As we've surely reported before, he is required to pay Ward $5500 a month, but she claims he owes her over $45,000. As we definitely previously reported, he was briefly jailed in 2007 after failing to keep up with the same payments.

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BONO COULD LOSE BOSNIAN PASSPORT
Bono could lose the Bosnian passport he was presented with in 1997 by late president Alija Izetbegovic, when U2 performed in Sarajevo, and in recognition of work he did in the country during the war. The singer recently described it as one of his most treasured possessions when the band played in Zagreb in Croatia. However, this comment seems to have brought the fact that he has it to the attention of Bosnian authorities, who are now questioning the legality of the singer having a passport to a country he is not a citizen (or even resident) of.

Bosnia's Civil Affairs Minister Sredoje Novic reportedly said: "If we establish that a passport was given outside a regular legal procedure, we will have no other option but to take it away. We cut no slack to anybody, not even for Bono".

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AZERBAIJANI EUROVISION VOTERS PROBED BY GOVERNMENT
People in Azerbaijan who voted for the Armenian entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest have been questioned by Azerbaijani authorities.

One man told the BBC that he had been accused of being unpatriotic and a potential security threat after voting for the neighbouring country's song, 'Jan Jan'. Authorities said they had merely invited people to explain why they voted for the Armenia.

The two countries fought over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in the 90s but have, in the last year, stepped up moves to reach an agreement over ownership of the area.

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BOW WOW SIGNS TO CASH MONEY
Rapper Bow Wow has signed a new deal with Cash Money following his split from Sony's Columbia Records earlier this year. He announced the deal via Twitter, saying: "It's official, I'm a Cash Money Millionaire" (that being the audacious title Cash Money's artists are collectively given).

Bow Wow has previously told fans that he was weighing up the choices of signing to TI's Warner/Atlantic subsidiary Grand Hustle, or moving back to Jermain Dupri's So So Def label, which he was forced to part ways with in 2002, because of contractual hoo haa when Dupri switched his alliances from Columbia to then BMG owned Arista.

However, in the end he went to Cash Money. He explained: "We had two sit-downs. Upon the first sit-down, I called [co-CEO Bryan 'Birdman' Williams] and told him what I wanted to do. So it was a no-brainer. He was like, 'Bow, you always been family. Next to [former company president and fellow Cash Money artist Lil Wayne], I look at you like my son. If you not with [Dupri], you with us'. From there, it was a done deal. So I wanna thank Birdman, [his older brother and co-CEO Ronald 'Slim' Williams] and Wayne".

The rapper added: "We all want to win, and in order to do that, we have to cover all bases. With me coming to Cash Money, I bring something to the table that hasn't been there in their history. I bring the whole Hollywood side, from that perspective".

He also said that he would continue to work with Dupri, despite not signing to his label: "He's always gonna be there right by my side".

A new mixtape will be the first release under the new deal, with a new single planned for release in November and album by the end of the year.

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COLD CAVE SIGN TO MATADOR
Over the past 18 months, Cold Cave have built a buzz for themselves via a string of extremely limited edition vinyl and cassette releases. Last month they released their debut album, 'Love Comes Close', via their own company, Heartworm Press. However, it sold out almost immediately, so they've decided to sign to Matador to help get it out to a wider audience. The label will re-release the album worldwide on 2 Nov.

Led by former Give Up The Ghost and Some Girls (the latter's 'Heaven's Pregnant Teens' album I cannot recommend highly enough) man Wesley Eisold, with ex-Xiu Xiu member Caralee McElroy, Dominick Fernow (aka Purient) and author Max G. Morton, they create a mix of experimental noise and synth-pop that sits somewhere in between Kraftwerk and The Jesus And Mary Chain.

You can download two tracks from the album as MP3s here:

The Laurels Of Erotomania
Life Magazine

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AGUILERA DISCUSSES NEW ALBUM
Christina Aguilera has revealed a few details about her new album, 'Light & Darkness', which she is currently finishing work on and features contributions from MIA, Santigold, Ladytron and Sia.

Calling in to APE Radio, Aguilera said: "I know I can't let too much out the bag too soon. I just can't, because I really want you guys to be surprised and to experience firsthand what I'm talking about or what I'm not talking too much about. Too soon in the game, but wrapping everything up now. I'm in the final stages of the record, and I'm just so thrilled".

She continued:"I think I'm more proud of this work than I've ever been, just because I worked with so many amazing and incredibly talented people. [Sia and I] did a lot of work on this record together, and she's just a complete gem. She's truly just such a talented force to be reckoned with. And I so enjoyed her company, and I think we really created some super crazy magic together. I got a chance to sort of write with Santigold, M.I.A., Ladytron - artists that I really love".

She gave little away about the sound of the album, but did say: "The overall versatility of this record is truly something special for me. I experimented with so many different types of textures and sounds with my voice that I've never showcased and that I never really knew that I could do. Working with so many different people, I really kind of wanted to step into their worlds, them into my world and just get the best of both worlds. I really like to step outside of my own box. The result was just crazy magic. There truly is something for everyone to enjoy on the record".

'Light & Darkness' is currently scheduled for release later this year via Sony/RCA.

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RADIOHEAD OFFICIALLY RELEASE LEAKED TRACK
Radiohead have officially released their new track, 'These Are My Twisted Words' as a free download via their W.A.S.T.E website. As previously reported, the song mysteriously appeared on fansite At East last week.

There was speculation that the band would release a new EP called Wall Of Ice yesterday, after some people discovered that those three words and "2009-08-17" appeared in a ASCII test file accompanying the original leaked file. Then someone set up www.wallofice.com and pointed it at W.A.S.T.E and the internet shat itself. The site was later updated claiming to be a hoax.

Anyway, download 'These Are My Twisted Words' here.

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TOMMY SPARKS STREAMS DEBUT ALBUM PRIOR TO RELEASE
Tommy Sparks is streaming his debut album in full on We7, two week's before its official release date on 31 Aug. This means you can hear one of CMU's favourite pop tunes of the year, 'She's Got Me Dancing', plus eleven other songs.

www.we7.com/#/album/Tommy-Sparks!albumId=376278&play=false

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DIRTY PROJECTORS ANNOUNCE NEW EP
Buzzy experimental pop types Dirty Projectors have only just released their new album, 'Bitte Orca', but already they're releasing new music. Well, half their new EP is made up of tracks from the album, but the other two tracks on it are brand new. Entitled 'Temecula Sunrise', the EP will be released by Domino on 28 Sep.

Look at the tracklist. Look at it!

Temecula Sunrise
Cannibal Resource
Ascending Melody
Emblem Of The World

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THEM CROOKED VULTURES PLAY EUROPE THIS WEEK
Them Crooked Cultures, that supergroup made up of Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones, of course, have announced their first European show. It's in Amsterdam tomorrow, though, and the ticket buying process is a little complicated. You might want to sit this one out.

Billed as 8436 2766533 88588737 (which is how you'd type Them Crooked Vultures on a phone), the band will play the Melkveg in Amsterdam on Wednesday night. Tickets go on sale at 6pm on today and will be available only from the venue's box office. Also, there will be a limit of one ticket per customer. When you pay, you'll be given a wristband. You'll have to return the next day to actually get your ticket. Yeah, like I said, it's complicated.

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BLINK 182 PLAN EUROPEAN TOUR
The reformed Blink 182 will be in Europe to tour next year, the band's Mark Hopus has revealed. He told MTV: "All three of us have agreed to go over to Europe in the next year, so we're going to start planning that out".

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MYSPACE TO BUY ILIKE?
According to TechCrunch, MySpace are close to acquiring music sharing service iLike for $20 million.

Launched in 2006, iLike is a music sharing and recommendation service, similar to Last.fm, which counts 50 million registered users, about 10 million of whom access it through its Facebook application (it also has a presence on pretty much all social networks except MySpace). The company also owns unsigned band music streaming site GarageBand.com and launched its own download service this week.

iLike's last round of funding came in 2006, with Ticketmaster putting up $13.3 million of the $16.5 million injection. At this time the company was valued at $53.4 million, although last year Ticketmaster announced that the value of their initial investment had dropped to $7.5 million.

What's interesting, if TechCrunch's claims are correct, is that MySpace is buying iLike in isolation from its own MySpace Music streaming service, with the iLike's founders Ali Partovi, Hadi Partovi and Nat Brown and the technology behind the service reportedly the particular draw. Could this be the beginning of the much needed overhaul of MySpace's pitiful back end technology?

Of course, the other interesting thing is iLike's Facebook integration. Although Facebook has been attempting to increase use of its fan pages of late, the iLike app is still the default music app for most users on the site. If MySpace do buy it, Facebook face the difficult situation of either cutting off one of its most important applications or being infiltrated by its main competitor.

Some reports have also suggested that the purchase could be worrying for iTunes, as iLike's download store and social network integration could make it a strong force in the download market with MySpace's money behind it. However, it's unlikely to have that much of an impact - and people always leap on the iTunes/iPod killer line when there's any major digital music development. As we keep saying, iTunes still has the advantage of being tied to the most popular digital music-playing hardware. And until someone comes up with something to rival the iPod/iTunes combo there'll be no contest. My dad said something about him doing that next week, but I'm not convinced.

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DYLAN PULLS BACK CATALOGUE FROM STREAMING SITES
Bob Dylan has pulled his back catalogue from streaming sites as the singer's representatives question licensing agreements. An instruction to pull the music was issued by Dylan's people via Sony Music to streaming sites, including We7 and Spotify, asking them to prove that they have the rights to stream it.

We7's digital music SVP Clive Gardiner told Music Ally: "We took [Dylan's music] off the site a few days ago. Spotify would have had the same instruction. But it may be a short listing and it may come back again. There are some artists that will take umbrage at this from time to time. We expect this sort of thing, especially with streaming, and it not being fully understood where it sits yet".

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TOTAL ROCK WORLD ALBUM CHART
It's this week's Total Rock World Album Chart, as counted down on Total Rock last weekend - www.totalrock.com. New entries and re-entries marked with a *.

1. Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown (Warner Bros.)
2. Nickelback - Dark Horse (Roadrunner)
3. Daughtry - Leave This Town (RCA)
4. Billy Talent - III (Atlantic)
5. Killswitch Engage - Killswitch Engage (Roadrunner)
6. Chickenfoot - Chickenfoot (Edel)
7. Theory Of A Deadman - Scars & Souvenirs (Roadrunner)
8. Shinedown - The Sound Of Madness (Atlantic)
9. Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings (Roadrunner)
10. Devildriver - Pray For Villains (Roadrunner)
11. AC/DC - Black Ice (Sony/BMG)
12. Bruce Springsteen - Greatest Hits (Sony/BMG)
13. Rise Against - Appeal To Reason (Geffen)
14. Alexisonfire - Old Crows/Young Cardinals (Roadrunner)
15. The Mars Volta - Octahedron (Universal)
16. Guns N Roses - Greatest Hits (Geffen)*
17. August Burns Red - Constellations (Hassle)
18. Incubus - Monuments & Melodies (Sony BMG)
19. Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream (Sony BMG)
20. Kid Rock - Rock N Roll Jesus (Atlantic)*

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VV BROWN REJECTS PLAYBOY (BUT WOULD POSE FOR PLAYBOY)
Singer VV Brown has revealed that she recently rejected an offer to pose nude for the US version of Playboy. However, she said that she would pose for the French version of the magazine, on account of it being classier.

Brown told Bebo: "We've actually had an offer from Playboy. I turned it down. I am an exhibitionist, I think nakedness is hot but it has to be done in a really classy arty way, so if it was French Playboy, that's different. French Playboy is a lot more fashion driven and there's a real sort of almost 50s pin-up sexy fashion thing to it but not like showing all my boobs and stuff, it would be like side profiles and silhouettes and very classy sort of nakedness".

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