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PRS REPORT REVIEWS MODELS AND TRENDS IN ONLINE INFRINGEMENT Of the six main models, those seeing growth are websites that provide links to unlicensed TV content, especially live streams of free-to-air and pay-to-view channels, and free-to-access P2P communities that provide links to unlicensed TV, film and music content available via file-sharing networks. Subscription-based file-sharing communities are sustaining their audiences but not seeing significant growth, while sites that provide free access to unlicensed content, as either downloads or streams, but where files are stored on a central server, rather than being available from another user's hard drive, are seeing user-bases decline, though are still significant. Websites that sell unlicensed content in much the same way as iTunes or Amazon are also seeing user-bases fall. Where usage is falling, that may be down to a change in consumer preferences, or simply be because a key provider of one of those six business models has gone offline, most likely because of rights owner action of one kind or another. In terms of how these services make money, whether for profit or to simply cover running costs, the three main revenue streams are advertising, subscriptions and donations. That fact provides another route for rights owners to pursue in their fight against piracy (rather than direct litigation against operator or user), ie go after advertisers or the credit card/online payment companies that enable infringing sites to take money from users. And, of course, some big rights owners have been using that tactic for some time, particularly the latter, given there are relatively few online payment providers available to infringing companies. Commenting on the new report, and how it can be used to help rights owners in the fight against piracy, Google's Theo Bertram told CMU: "Our research shows there are many different business models for online infringement which can be tackled if we work together. The evidence suggests that one of the most effective ways to do this is to follow the money, targeting the advertisers who choose to make money from these sites and working with payment providers to ensure they know where their services are being used". PRS chief Robert Ashcroft added: "This groundbreaking research tells us two things. Firstly sites involved in copyright infringement are businesses with real costs and revenue sources. They receive subscription or advertising revenue, pay their server or hosting costs, but fail to pay the creators of content on which their businesses depend. Secondly, not all of these business models are the same, and the government now has the evidence to understand which policy levers to apply to deal with these different businesses effectively". The report can be viewed in full at www.prsformusic.com/economics LAMB OF GOD FRONTMAN CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER IN CZECH REPUBLIC Czech website Blesk.cz reports that a nineteen year old fan, named only as Daniel N, managed to get onto the stage at the gig and was allegedly kicked violently back into the crowd by Blythe. The man then fell and hit his heard on the concrete floor, dying from his injuries two weeks later. The band returned to Prague on Thursday to play a show at the Rock Café, but Blythe was arrested at the airport and the gig was cancelled. The rest of the band returned home on Sunday. Their frontman, meanwhile, was held in custody until a hearing yesterday where he posted bail of four million Czech koruna (approximately £130,000). However, having been deemed a flight risk by the judge, he was told he would remain in Prague's Pankrác Prison for at least another ten days, while other terms of bail (including measures to keep him in the Czech Republic) can be worked out. In a statement last week, the band's publicist said: "Under no circumstances was there a fight of any kind. This incident deals with a fan that three times during the concert jumped the barricade and rushed Randy during the performance. It is alleged that the third time, security was not able to reach him and that Randy pushed him back into the audience where supposedly he fell and hit his head". If convicted Blythe faces up to ten years in prison. -------------------------------------------------- FORMER PA CONVICTED FOR STEALING FROM U2 BASSIST Hawkins had worked for the U2 man for seventeen years, initially as a housekeeper but, eventually, as a PA, and had won his complete trust, the court was told, leading to her becoming a signatory on his bank accounts. That she had been abusing that trust first came to light when Clayton discovered his PA had booked up to 15,000 euros worth of flights on his account to visit family members in the US and London. Subsequent investigations revealed she had spent hundreds of thousands of euros belonging to Clayton on holidays, designer clothes, cars and education for her children, and no less than 22 horses. Hawkins will be sentenced on Friday. CHRISTOPHER OWENS QUITS GIRLS Over a series of tweets, Owens wrote: "This may come as a surprise to many and has been an issue of much thought for me. My decision was not easy to make. I am leaving Girls. My reasons at this time are personal. I need to do this in order to progress. I will continue to write and record music. More will be announced soon. I thank you all for everything. Sincerely, Christopher". The statement was later republished by Girls' record label, Turnstile Music, so appears to be more genuine than similar declarations made by oh, Ariel Pink, for example. There's been no confirmation yet as to whether Owens' songwriting partner Chet 'JR' White and co will continue on without him, but I bet they won't. EMI EXTENDS GUETTA DEAL Confirming the major had renewed its deal with the superstar-producer, EMI's David Kassler told reporters: "I am absolutely delighted that David Guetta is extending his incredible relationship with EMI - as the number one DJ in the world he is loved by tens of millions of music fans worldwide. Through his creativity and passion, David has helped change the face of dance, electronic and pop music, and he carries the respect and admiration of fellow artists, DJs, songwriters, producers and, of course, his label worldwide". Meanwhile Olivier Montfort of EMI Music France, the division to which French bloke Guetta is signed, added: "At EMI Music, we have been proud to work alongside David since that very first single back in 2001, and we've come a long way together. He's now one of the world's biggest music stars, and I am very happy that he has put his faith in us and chosen to continue that relationship". ARCTIC MONKEYS TO RECORD "HEAVIER" NEW LP, PERHAPS IN SHEFFIELD Speaking to Artrocker, Turner said: "I think we're going to go the direction of those heavier tunes. We did 'R U Mine' and I think that's where it's going to be at for us for the next record. We feel the strength of the last album is 'Don't Sit Down'... and the other songs like that. The other side of it is fine, but I don't know how much more of that we can do". He also revealed that the band were considering a return to Sheffield to record the new album, adding that he'd prefer he and his bandmates be in one place while working on new material this time, unlike with 'Suck It And See', Turner: "I was living in New York, and that's where I wrote a lot of those 'Suck It And See' songs, and the fact that me and the other chaps were on either side of a large body of water - I wrote a lot on acoustic guitar in the flat. Then we went and applied to it what we thought they needed, which is not really a way that we worked before. Mostly it's just the four of us hashing it out in a rehearsal space, but those kind of songs were in the minority on the last record, due to circumstance really". LITTLE MIX DEBUT NEW SINGLE Set to alight upon record store shelves via Syco on 22 Aug, here's the 'Wings' lyric video (essential for learning all the words by heart). -------------------------------------------------- FOUR TET PREPS SINGLES COMPILATION Tracklisting: Locked -------------------------------------------------- TILLY AND THE WALL ANNOUNCE LP Continuing on the Bright Eyes theme, it's out via Conor Oberst's label, Team Love, on 1 Oct. Prised from the LP against its will, here's 'Love Riot'. -------------------------------------------------- PLANNINGTOROCK PLANNING TO RELEASE SPLIT SINGLE Planningtorock is to appear live as part of this year's Antony Hegarty-curated Meltdown festival, which takes place at London's Southbank Centre from 1-12 Aug. You'll hear why she was selected to suit Antony's 'future feminism' theme when you stream 'Patriarchy Over & Out' here. THIS JUST-IN: BIEBER'S 2013 TOUR ANNOUNCED See JB on one (or, if you're anything like me, all) of these live dates: 9 Feb: Manchester, Manchester Arena ------------------------------------------------- AMANDA MAIR ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE AND TOUR Here are the dates: 2 Sep: Cambridge, Lodestar Festival ------------------------------------------------- HEY SHOLAY TO TOUR But what of those tour dates? Why, here they are: FESTIVAL LINE-UP UPDATE END OF THE ROAD, Larmer Tree Gardens, Salisbury, 31 Aug - 2 Sep: 'Special guest' Patti Smith has been named as a late addition to this year's End Of The Road roster, as also features Grizzly Bear, Graham Coxon, Beach House, Willis Earl Beal and Grandaddy. www.endoftheroadfestival.com PITCHFORK FESTIVAL PARIS, Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris, France, 1-3 Nov: Pitchfork ups the allure of its Parisian bash with the addition of new bookings Chairlift, Twin Shadow, Wild Nothing, Jessie Ware, Disclosure, Cloud Nothings, AlunaGeorge and Outfit, all of whom align with Robyn, Animal Collective, M83, The Walkmen, Chromatics and Liars on an unsurprisingly unsurpassable live line-up. www.pitchfork.com/festivals/paris/2012/ UNDERAGE FESTIVAL, Shoreditch Park, London, 31 Aug: Savages, Palma Violets, Citizens!, Eugene McGuinnes and more represent teens-only fest Underage's most recent line-up acquisitions, and thus accompany Hadouken!, Disclosure, Outfit, Summer Camp, Spector and Jessie Ware on the overall billing. www.underagefestivals.com DIGITAL SALES CONTINUE TO GROW, BUT ALBUM SALES DOWN OVERALL Single sales, which, of course, are now almost exclusively digital (indeed 100% of top ten single sales this year have been digital), were up 8.3% year-on-year for quarter two, while sales overall this year are 6.3% up on the same point in 2011. In the albums domain, sales of digital albums were also up, 15% on Q2 last year, and 17.3% for the year to date. However, physical album sales continue to slump, so that overall LP sales are 12.7% down on the same quarter last year, and 13.8% for the year. That said, keeping things positive, BPI boss Geoff Taylor noted that these figures don't account for the increased growth in subscription-based revenues enjoyed by labels, while adding that some big new releases are still to come this year, which may result in an uplift in quarters three and four. Says Geoffrey: "We've had another solid quarter of digital growth in sales volumes - both in albums and on singles, where the top ten were exclusively sold as digital downloads. Album unit sales are down quite significantly year-on-year, but it's important to remember that these unit sales figures do not take into account the growing importance of music streaming and subscription services". As previously reported, in the first quarter of 2011 overall digital revenues outperformed overall physical product income for the first time in the UK. In quarter two digital accounted for the vast majority of single sales and 34.7% of album sales. How that worked out overall, of course, we will not know until BPI/OCC reveal full revenue stats including subscription service revenue and such like, though many expect physical revenues will slightly outperform digital again this time. If you're interested, Adele, Emeli Sandé and Lana Del Rey have sold the most albums so far this year, while the biggest selling singles of 2012 have been 'Somebody That I Used To Know' by Gotye, 'Call Me Maybe' by Carly Rae Jepsen and 'Titanium' by David Guetta and Sia. -------------------------------------------------- EARACHE EXPANDS EMI DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP Confirming the new deal, Earache's Dan Tobin told CMU: "Having enjoyed a fruitful distribution arrangement with EMI in key European territories for the last couple of years, it seemed only natural to expand the partnership. With the UK being very much our home base, we are looking forward to developing the label still further here". He continued: "2012 might be Earache's 25th anniversary but we have no intention of easing off or resting on past glories. We aim to take the label forward for many years to come, and EMI have proved themselves committed, innovative and flexible when it comes to handling our catalogue. We're very much looking forward to new possibilities in the UK and across Europe". Meanwhile EMI's Label Services man Keith Sweeney added: "We are delighted and very excited about further developing our relationship with Dig, Dan and the Earache team. Their A&R skills and their legacy is a testimony to what great music people they are and how much fun they are to work with". -------------------------------------------------- VIVENDI LOOKING TO SELL ACTIVISION The Activision sale rumours follow weeks of speculation that the French entertainment and communications conglom might split into two companies, and come after last week's surprise departure of the group's CEO Jean-Bernard Levy, who left because of differences of opinion regarding the future direction of the business. Although still profitable, Vivendi is facing challenges because its French tel co is struggling to compete against some new entrants into its market. Vivendi is the biggest shareholder in the gaming firm, which is behind major titles like 'World Of Warcraft' and 'Call Of Duty'. The games company actually trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange, and its thought that if the French group cannot sell its stake in the firm outright to one bidder, it might look to sell a portion of its equity on the markets. As previously reported, the boss of Universal Music, Lucian Grainge, last week sent a memo to his staff reassuring them that Vivendi remained committed to both the music major, and its bid to acquire the EMI record company, despite Levy's sudden exit. GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES LATEST DAB PLAN, UKRD CALLS IT A "SHAMBLES" As much previously reported, plans to phase out FM and make DAB the principle radio network in the UK have divided the industry, with some arguing that the digital network simply isn't ready to take over from FM, and that anyway it will become redundant before it has ever really taken off, as internet radio technologies develop. Others remain convinced that DAB is the future, and would like the switch over to happen sooner rather than later, because operating concurrent analogue and digital broadcasts for the same services is expensive. One issue, however, is the slow uptake of digital radio by the public. Research reckons just under 30% of radio listening is "digital", though that stat includes online and TV-based listening as well as DAB, so is slightly misleading. And, anyway, 30% usage isn't enough to enable government to force a digital-only era onto the listening public (even if digital listening is growing more rapidly of late). As the debate rumbles on as to if and when a digital switchover may be possible, the government's Communications Minister Ed Vaizey has just published a Memorandum Of Understanding between various stakeholders in the radio industry, including DAB operators MuxCo and Arqiva, and radio groups BBC, Global, Bauer and UTV, that sets out plans to further expand the digital network so that it can fully replace FM. Launching the memo, Vaizey said yesterday: "This is a positive and significant step forward for the future of digital radio in the UK. As more and more listeners make the switch to digital, it's vital that we keep on increasing the areas able to receive a digital signal. Government, the BBC and the commercial operators are working together to ensure this happens". However, the boss of UKRD says the latest document is a fudge that won't work because none of the signatories to it are legally bound to do what the agreement says. William Rogers, a vocal critic of all things DAB, told reporters: "We have been waiting for this for months and months and all we get is a meaningless piece of paper devoid of any serious commitment to the necessary funding required or any sensible strategy to deliver certainty to this whole local DAB shambles". He continued: "Even the Government is not prepared to commit to the necessary funding for the local DAB roll out beyond 2017 at the very time when it would need to be delivered. This is a complete shambles and it makes it less likely that either operators or motor manufacturers will have any confidence at all that this is likely to proceed". Finally, he said: "The Department of Culture, Media & Sport has elevated the shambolic strategic planning of the local radio sector to an art form and it beggars belief that this has been published as a serious proposition. This is shambolic, ill-considered and utterly meaningless. More uncertainty, not less and even more proof, if we haven't already had enough, that the government is incapable of managing this process competently". ASDA WITHDRAWS SIX ALEX JAMES CHEESES Six of nine Alex James cheeses have been withdrawn by the supermarket, according to the Daily Star, including cheddar with salad cream, ketchup, tomato and tikka masala. Though sweet chilli and spring onion varieties are still on sale, so all is not lost. An Asda spokeswoman told reporters: "Clearly some of them were ahead of their time". In related news, James' band Blur unveiled two new tracks yesterday and, to the best of our knowledge, neither has been withdrawn from sale yet. So you could got check them out. Or watch this video of Alex doing a cheese-based meet and greet at the world's biggest Asda. |
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