ANSCHUTZ SHARES AEG INFORMATION DOCUMENT, PRICE TAG COULD EXCEED $10 BILLION
If you'd put aside $7 billion to buy the Anschutz Entertainment Group, you might need to find yourself another $3 billion, because rumour has it that the Anschutz company has revised upwards the figure it is seeking for the venue, sports and live entertainment group, which the American conglom indicated it would sell last month.

According to Reuters, while an initial prospectus about the company doesn't go into financials, AEG's current owners are seeking bids of "high single digit, low double digit" billions. It's thought the 25 page AEG information memorandum will go to dozens of interested parties this week, while those who sign non-disclosure agreements could have access to the live entertainment giant's books by the end of the month.

As previously reported, the Anschutz company, led by aging billionaire Philip Anschutz, has indicated that it is in no rush to sell AEG, and that the right buyer would be able to acquire the entertainment group in its entirety, and continue to run it as one entity. That requirement could reduce the final number of bidders, though there does seem to be a lot of interest at the moment.

Amongst the potential bidders tipped by Reuters are investment companies like Guggenheim Partners and private equity groups including Bain Capital, Colony Capital and Thomas H Lee Partners, the latter of which helped finance Edgar Bronfman Jr's acquisition of Warner Music in 2004. Liberty Media is also said to be interested. It currently owns a quarter of AEG rival Live Nation, and is often mooted to be interested in taking complete ownership of that company.

As previously reported, LA-based billionaire surgeon and biotech entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong, who has been pumping chunks of his fortune into America sports teams of late, is also interested in leading a consortium to bid for the firm.

How many of these potential bidders will actually come through with a $10 billion+ bid remains to be seen. Needless to say, the Anschutz company is making no comment at this point beyond its original declaration of intent to sell its entertainment business. As also previously reported, AEG boss Tim Leiweke has insisted that it's business as usual at the live firm despite the pending sale, adding that he expects the company's operations to continue unhindered even once a transaction is completed.

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PUTIN SAYS PUSSY RIOT THREE "GOT WHAT THEY ASKED FOR"
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered his viewpoint regards the Pussy Riot case, telling a TV programme he believes that the jailing of three members of the punk outfit for performing a protest song against him in a Moscow church was justified.

The comments, in a one hour programme celebrating the Russian leader's 60th birthday this weekend, came as Pussy Riot members Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich prepare for their appeal hearing in a Moscow court, which is due to resume later this week.

As previously reported, the three activists were sentenced to two years in jail back in August for the protest earlier this year, after being found guilty of 'hooliganism motivated by religious hatred'. The conviction and sentence is widely seen as being the result of political influence on the Moscow court, and has been criticised by artists and free speech groups the world over.

Some were hopeful that the three might be released on appeal, even if the convictions were not overturned, after Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told reporters he believed a suspended sentence would be a satisfactory conclusion. A spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church also said it felt leniency should be shown if the defendants showed some remorse.

However, some key supporters of Alyokhina, Tolokonnikova and Samutsevich are pessimistic of anything changing on appeal, noting that the church's statement was basically asking the three women to admit guilt, and while they have apologised for offending Russian Orthodox believers, that's not something they are willing to do. And for those supporters, the timing of Putin's own remarks regards the case is significant, and only increases their pessimism regards any outcome.

Putin told state-run TV channel NTV that, while he had no personal involvement in the case, the three women "got what they asked for", adding: "It was right that they were arrested, and the court's decision was right".

Insisting the issue was one of morality rather than politics, Putin took issue with the punk outfit's name, asking his interviewer to translate the group's moniker. When the interviewer refused, the Russian ruler said: "You see, if you can't say it in front of me, it means it's an indecent word. These girls must be talented - they forced you all to say that word. Is that normal? One must not erode our moral foundation and undermine the country. What would be left then?"

According to The Guardian, a legal rep for the Pussy Riot Three has said that Putin's comments were part of "a planned propaganda campaign aimed at getting the court to form a negative opinion. This is [designed to put] pressure on the court".

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PIRATE BAY FOUNDER GETS PASSPORT BACK, CURRENT BAY OPERATORS SAY USER DATA IS SAFE
One of the founders of The Pirate Bay has successfully reclaimed his passport, after it was taken away from him by the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok earlier this summer.

Fredrik Neij, of course, should technically be serving a prison sentence in his home country and working out how to pay the music and movie industries the $7 million in damages they are due. He is currently living in Laos, however, and is trying to fight his copyright infringement conviction, handed down for his part in setting up the controversial file-sharing website, through the European Courts Of Human Rights.

The Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, the country's closest embassy to Neij's current Laos home, seemingly took away the Bay founder's passport earlier this year.

However, he formally protested that move, stating to the Swedish authorities that his 2010 conviction did not warrant the revocation of his passport, which he needed so he could travel to Thailand and be present with his Thai wife as she gave birth to their third child.

And, according to Ars Technica, a court has sided with Neij, ruling that the Swedish embassy in Bangkok did not give enough reason for confiscating the Bay man's papers, and should therefore return his passport. It's not currently clear if the Swedish government plans to appeal.

As previously reported, both Neij and his fellow Bay founder Peter Sunde are still trying to fight their convictions and avoid jail time. The third co-founder, Gottfrid Svartholm, is now in Swedish custody after being returned to his home country from Cambodia, where he had been living for sometime. He was deprived the right of further appeal after he failed to show up for his first appeal hearing.

Elsewhere in Pirate Bay news, there was chatter amongst the tech community last week about the personal data stored by the file-sharing service of its users, amidst concerns that if the site's servers were seized, the authorities might be able to use that data to pursue copyright actions against individual users.

It's not the first time such concerns have been raised, but presumably they were doing the rounds again after the hosting company founded by Neij and Svartholm, PRQ, was raided by the authorities last week. The raid coincided with the Bay going offline for over a day, though the file-sharing platform's current operators insisted that that wasn't because its servers had been seized, not least because the core Bay operation is no longer hosted with PRQ. Nevertheless, Bay users were concerned.

But, even if any servers had been seized, user data would not fall into the hands of the powers that be, TPB operators insist, telling TorrentFreak: "[User IP addresses] are stored for 48 hours, and they are stored in RAM so if someone tries to take a server the information is lost. Plus they are encrypted in case someone finds a sql-injection and takes the database".

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MANAGERS AND ARTISTS TO PRESENT AMANDA PALMER WITH PIONEER AWARD
The Music Managers Forum and Featured Artists Coalition will present a Pioneer Award to Amanda Palmer at the second Artist & Manager Awards in London next month, in honour of the Kickstarter campaign she instigated earlier this year, which raised over a million dollars in pre-sales to fund the release of a new album and art book, and a world tour.

Confirming Palmer's award, Jon Webster of the MMF told CMU: "We are delighted to recognise innovation in the music space and Amanda Palmer typifies the pioneering spirit that great artists have".

Meanwhile Palmer herself added: "I'm honoured to be given an award like this, but I'll accept it on behalf of myself AND the 24,883 folks who backed my Kickstarter, every one of which helped show the world that enthusiasm for supporting artists and their ventures is - contrary to the sky-is-falling attitude of the old music business - alive, well, kicking and, most importantly, WORKING".

On the new music business, she continued: "The future of the music 'business' is blindingly bright, you just need to know which direction to look in. The mainstream structures, now collapsed or collapsing, are still on the wrong track, since they keep asking what the NEXT model is. The truth is: there is no next model. Show me 1000 talented musicians, each with a unique style and personality, and I'll show you 1000 ways to make a career in music. There is no longer an off-the-shelf solution. My Kickstarter was exciting, but it's just the tip of the iceberg. What artists and their audiences will make possible, now that they're able to connect directly without the aid and criticism of the machine, is going to astound all of us, including me... we've only just barely begun a new era of authentic connection with each other".

The 2012 Artist & Manager Awards will take place at The Troxy in East London on 27 Nov. More info at www.amawards.org

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UK MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED
The nominations are out for this year's UK Music Video Awards, but before we delve into the long list of shortlists, let's note the MVAs take place at The Empire cinema in London's Leicester Square on 8 Nov, and that more info is online at www.ukmva.com, and then hear from the award's Editorial Director David Knight, who has some things to say...

"It's a fascinating period for music videos as a creative medium. Technology, the internet and social media continues to change how music videos are made and how they are consumed. They are central to people's lives again, a huge source of entertainment - and sometimes awe and wonder. And the MVAs has become a globally-recognised event for celebrating the outstanding creative work in music videos in the UK and around the world. Last year filmmakers travelled from Europe and the United States to attend our biggest show ever. It was a very good night indeed - and I'm sure the fifth MVAs will be the best one yet".

Here's some noms...

Best UK Indie/Rock Video: Alt-J - Tessellate (Director Alex Southam), Band Of Skulls - Sweet Sour (Director Mark Maggiori & Petecia Le Fawnhawk), Clock Opera - Lesson No 7 (Director Aoife Mcardle), Coldplay - Paradise (Alternative Version) (Director Shynola), The Kooks - Saboteur (Director Surrender Monkeys), Spiritualized - Hey Jane (Director Ag Rojas)

Best UK Pop Video: Calvin Harris Ft Ne-Yo- Let's Go (Director Vincent Haycock), Ed Sheeran - Lego House (Director Emil Nava), George Michael - White Light (Director Ryan Hope), MIA - Bad Girls (Director Romain Gavras), Paloma Faith - Picking Up The Pieces (Director Emil Nava), Will Young - Losing Myself (Director Henry Scholfield)

Best UK Alternative Video: Alt-J - Breezeblocks (Director Ellis Bahl), Antony & The Johnsons - Cut The World (Director Nabil), Clark - Black Stone (Director The Vikings), Moones - Better Energy Director Peter Sluszka), James Blake - A Case Of You (Director Seb Edwards), Keaton Henson - Small Hands (Director Joseph Mann)

Best UK Dance Video: Benga - I Will Never Change (Director Us), Bonobo - Eyesdown (Machinedrum Remix) (Director Anthony F Schepperd), David Guetta Ft Sia - Titanium (Director David Wilson), Hot Chip - Night And Day (Director Peter Serafinowicz), Rudimental - Feel The Love (Director Bob Harlow), The Shoes - Time To Dance (Director Daniel Wolfe)

Best UK Urban Video: Delilah - Inside My Love (Director Jake Nava), Devlin Ft Ed Sheeran - Watchtower (Director Corin Hardy), Dj Shadow Ft Afrikan Boy - I'm Excited (Director Ian Pons Jewell), Labrinth - Express Yourself (Director Jonas & Francois), Plan B - Ill Manors (Director Yann Demange), Rita Ora Ft Tinie Tempah - R.I.P. (Director Emil Nava)

Best International Indie/Rock Video: Cults - Go Outside (Director Isaiah Seret), Foster The People - Houdini (Director Daniels), Jack White - Sixteen Saltines (Director Ag Rojas), Tenacious D - Rize Of The Fenix (Director Daniels), The Shins - Simple Song (Director Daniels), Woodkid - Run Boy Run (Director Yoann Lemoine)

Best International Pop Video: Justice - On 'N' On (Director Alex Courtes), Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans (Director Yoann Lemoine), Lana Del Rey - Born To Die (Director Yoann Lemoine), Lana Del Rey - National Anthem (Director Anthony Mandler), Maia Vidal - Follow Me (Director Joana Colomar), Rihanna Ft Calvin Harris - We Found Love (Director Melina)

Best International Alternative Video: Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi, Ft Jack White - Two Against One (Director Anthony F Schepperd), Feist - The Bad In Each Other (Director Martin De Thurah), Grimes - Oblivion (Director Emily Kai Bock), The Hickey Underworld - The Frog (Director Joe Vanhoutteghem), M83 - Midnight City (Director Fleur & Manu), St. Vincent - Cheerleader (Director Hiro Murai)

Best International Dance Video: Duck Sauce - Big Bad Wolf (Director Keith Schofield), Flight Facilities - Foreign Language (Director Dimitri Basil / Laura Gorun), Justice - Audio Video Disco (Director Some), Justice - New Lands (Director Canada), Moonbootica - Iconic (Director Skinny), Skillrex - First Of The Year Equinox (Director Tony T Datis)

Best International Urban Video: Blu Ft U-God - Doinnothin (Director David M Helman), Casey Veggies - Euphoria Iii (Director John Bollozos), Kanye West & Jay-Z - Niggas In Paris (Director Kanye West), Frank Ocean - Novacane (Director Nabil), Jay-Z & Kanye West - No Church In The Wild (Director Romain Gavras), The Cool Kids - Rush Hour Traffic (Director Joey Garfield)

Best Budget Indie/Rock Video: Bombay Bicycle Club - Lights Out Words Gone (Director Rob & Rob), Graham Coxon - What It'll Take (Director Ninian Doff), Here We Go Magic - How Do I Know (Director Sean Pecknold), Piers Faccini - Tribe (Director Cyril Gfeller), We Cut Corners - Pirates Life (Director Kijek & Adamski), When Saints Go Machine - Parix (Director Daniel Kragh-Jacobsen)

Best Budget Pop Video: EJ - Mama I'm Going To Sing (Director Jack), Igor Volk - Voices (Director David Krepski), Laurel Collective - Jelly Bird (Director Crowns & Owls), Louise Golbey - How It Is (Director Spritz), Rent Boys - Shoot The Shot (Director Zac Ella), Sébastien Tellier - Cochon Ville (Director Alex Courtès)

Best Budget Alternative Video: C2C - Down The Road (Director Thomas Tyman), Factory Floor - On Hold (Director Ab/Cd/Cd), Hilary Hahn/Hauschka - Draw A Map (Director Eric Epstein), Rudi Zygaldo - Melpomene (Director Nick Rutter), The Death Set - They Come To Get Us (Director Guillaume Panariello), Three Trapped Tigers - Reset (Director Chris Boyle)

Best Budget Dance Video: Delta Heavy - Get By (Director Ian Robertson), Delta Heavy - Hold Me (Director Kristofer Ström), Disclosure Ft Ria Ritchie - Control (Director Ben Murray & Ross Mcdowell), Kidnap Kid - Vehl (Director Drew Cox), Toby Gale - Showdown (Director Crown & Owls), Todd Terje - Inspector Norse (Director Kristoffer Borgli)

Best Budget Urban Video: A$Ap Rocky - Peso (Director Abteen Bagheri), Astroid Boys - Bad Ass (Director Like An Egg), Dubbul O - Spooky Caravan (Director Joe Broady), James Brown - It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World (Director Xavier Fauthoux), Noisses Ft Rtkal, Lady Leshurr & Foreign Beggars - Run Your Mouth (Director Drew Cox), Pato Siebenhaar - Gå For Det (Director Anders Bundgaard & Jeppe Hansen)

Best Animation In A Video: Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi ft Jack White - Two Against One (Animator Anthony F Schepperd), Delta Heavy - Get By (Animator Ian Robertson), Fleet Foxes - The Shrine/An Argument (Animator Sean Pecknold & Britta Johnson), Gorillaz - Doyathing (Animator Jerome Combe, Arnaud Delord & Pascal Charrue), Kina - In Your Arms (Animator Greg Jardin), Moones - Better Energy (Animator Kevin Coyle, Matt Somma, Chris Gilligan, Ellen Goldstein, Maxwell Sorensen, Matt Christiansen, Peter Sluszka)

Best Art Direction & Design In A Video: Duck Sauce - Big Bad Wolf Art (Director Megan Hutchinson & Sunny Moon), Justice - New Lands Art (Director Roger Bellés), Keaton Henson - Small Hands Art (Director Josephn Mann), MIA - Bad Girls Art (Director Romain Gavras), The Maccabees - Pelican Art (Director Andy Kelly, Clem Miller, Ashley Dando, Shaun Fenn, Sarah Ashcroft, Fiona Russel, Arthur De Borman, Max Halstead),
The Shoes - Time To Dance Art (Director Sam Tidman)

Best Cinematography In A Video: Feist - The Bad In Each Other (DOP Kasper Tuxen), James Blake - A Case Of You (DOP Stuart Graham), Jay-Z & Kanye West - No Church In The Wild (DOP Mattias Montero), Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans (DOP Rodrigo Prieto), MIA - Bad Girls (DOP André Chemetoff), Unkle - Another Night Out (DOP Steve Annis)

Best Choreography In A Video: Avicii - Levels (Choreographer Richy Greenfield & Petro), Delilah - Inside My Love (Choreographer Javier De Frutos), Hauschka - Radar (Choreographer Nadia Espiritu & Patrick Williams), Thunderbird Gerard - Thunderbird (Choreographer Nandi Bhebhe), Toby Gale - Showdown (Choreographer Rueben Crossland-Jones & Jacob Steers), Will Young - Losing Myself (Choreographer Aletta Collins)

Best Editing In A Video: Florence & The Machine - Shake It Out (Editor Thomas Grove Carter@ Family Editing), Justice - New Lands (Editor Canada), MIA - Bad Girls (Editor Walter Mauriot), Plan B - Ill Manors (Editor Matt Mee), The Shoes - Time To Dance (Editor Tom Lindsay @ Trim Editing), Unkle - Another Night Out (Editor Julian Eguiguren)

Best Styling In A Video: Duran Duran - Girl Panic (Stylist Vanessa Coyle), Flight Facilities - Foreign Language (Stylist Dominique Basil), Lana Del Rey - National Anthem (Stylist Johnny Blue Eyes), Mademoiselle Yulia - Gimme Gimme (Stylist Andrea Crews), MIA - Bad Girls (Stylist Hannah Edwards), Rammstein - Mein Land (Stylist Liz Cowan)

Best Telecine (aka Grading) In A Video: James Blake - A Case Of You (Colourists Jeanclement Soret @ MPC), Justice - New Lands (Colourists Ben Rogers @ Glassworks), Jay-Z & Kanye West - No Church In The Wild (Colourists Simon Bourne @ Framestore), Temper Trap - Trembling Hands (Colourists James Tillett @ MPC), The Shoes - Time To Dance (Colourists Simon Bourne @ Framestore), Will Young - Losing Myself (Colourists Simone Grattarola @ Rushes)

Best VFX In A Video: Duck Sauce - Big Bad Wolf (VFX Artist Caviar Brussels), Friendly Fires - Hurting (VFX Artist David Lewandowski), Foster The People - Houdini (VFX Artist Daniels), Hot Chip - Night And Day (VFX Artist Chris Bristow & Ryan Passmore), Justice - New Lands (VFX Artist David Gomez & Martin Contel @ Glassworks Barcelona), Woodkid - Run Boy Run (VFX Artist One More Productions)

Best Live Music Coverage: Chase & Status - Live At Brixton Academy (Director Paul Caslin), Chemical Brothers - Don't Think (Director Adam Smith), LCD Soundsystem - Shut Up And Play The Hits Directors: Thirtytwo), Rizzle Kicks - Live And Typical (Director James Russell), The Maccabees - Vevo Presents The Maccabees In The Dark Directors: Jamie Roberts & Will Hanke), Various Artists - The Jo Whiley Music Show (Director Paul Dugdale)

Best Music Ad - TV Or Online: Kasabian - Velociraptor (Director John Paveley), The Killers - Battle Born (Director Giorgio Testi), Olly Murs - Olly Murs (Director Paul Caslin), Pink Floyd - A Foot In The Dark (Director John Paveley & Paul Gardner), Stavanger Symphony Orchestra - Seven Vibes (Director Christian Holm-Glad), Soulwax - Radio Soulwax "Machine" (Director Saam Farahmand)

The Innovation Award: Alb - Golden Chains (Director Johnatan Broda), Ghostpoet & The D.O.T. - Trouble (Director Unknown), J Viewz - Rivers And Homes (Director Eran Amir, Shelly Carmel & Jonathan Dagan), The Maccabees - Vevo Presents The Maccabees In The Dark (Director Jamie Roberts & Will Hanke), Madness - Our House At The Queen's Diamond Jubilee (Director Rok Predin & Layla Atkinson), Various Artists - Alternative Advent Calendar (Director David Wilson)

Best Commissioner: Dan Millar, Dan Curwin, James Hackett, John Moule, Julia Frost, Mike O'keefe

Best Producer: Gareth Thomas, Leanne Stott, Lee Groombridge, Liz Kessler, Phil Tidy, Tamsin Glasson

Best New Director: A Nice Idea Every Day, Abteen Bagheri, Ag Rojas, Bison, Focus Creeps, Ninian Doff

Best Director: Andreas Nilsson, Daniels, David Wilson, Emil Nava, Romain Gavras, Yoann Lemoine

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AMP ORGANISERS PUBLISH INITIAL LONG LIST
The initial longlist for the next Australian Music Prize has been announced, though this isn't the final list. For the first time the Mercury-like AMP is attempting to consider all new Australian albums released in the last year, and not just those from artists or labels that paid to enter.

Judges reckon that means 230 albums are eligible, and so far they have listened to 130, from which the following long players have been longlisted. I think an initial list is being promoted now to encourage any other artists or labels who believe they have an eligible record to make sure they send a copy to the award's organisers.

Anyway, of the 130 Aussie albums considered so far, the following are still in the AMP running: Alpine -A Is For Alpine, Bearhug - Bill Dance Shiner, Bushwalking - First Time, Catcall - The Warmest Place, Charge Group - Charge Group, Children Collide - Monument, Deep Sea Arcade - Outlands,
Dirty Three - Toward The Sun, DZ Deathrays - Bloodstreams, Emma Russack - Sounds Of Our City,
Forty Thousand Sisters - Goodbye Broken Sled, Grand Salvo - Slay Me In My Sleep, Hermitude -Hyper-Paradise, Hilltop Hoods - Drinking From The Sun, House Vs Hurricane - Crooked Teeth, Jess Ribeiro & The Bone Collectors - My Little River, Liz Stringer - Warm In The Darkness, Made In Japan - Sights & Sounds, Missy Higgins - The Ol' Razzle Dazzle, Ollo - Ape Delay, Pond - Beard, Wives, Denim, The Bamboos - Medicine Man, The Hello Morning - The Hello Morning, The Maple Trail - Cable Mount Warning, Tim Hart - Milling The Wind, Xavier Rudd - Spirit Bird.

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GIRLS ALOUD COUNTING DOWN
Girls Aloud are going to do something in just under ten days. Well, that's the hope anyway, otherwise the timer currently counting down on their official website will be entirely redundant.

Last night the group's website was updated to be nothing but an entirely black page, prompting fans to assume some sort of announcement was imminent. Nadine Coyle then tweeted: "Sleep time beauties. Please make sure to be up nice and early to say hi!"

Then, at 10am, as excitement reach fever pitch, that timer appeared. Given that their reunion is pretty much the worst kept secret in music, I'm not sure why they don't just get on with it. Maybe, like Led Zeppelin recently, they're actually just going to announce a DVD of their last gig. Or maybe they're going announce a Led Zeppelin reunion. No one would see that coming.

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MIKE LOVE DENIES FIRING BRIAN WILSON FROM REUNITED BEACH BOYS
Mike Love has denied recent reports that he "fired" the other remaining original members of the Beach Boys in order to tour with the incarnation he had been working with prior to the recent 50th anniversary reunion.

As previously reported, both Al Jardine and Brian Wilson have expressed disappointment that Love plans to continue touring with the more recent line up of the band now that the original line-up reunion tour for the 50th anniversary is complete. In fact, Jardine has been asking fans to sign a petition against the move, accusing Love of opting to go back to a "money-saving, stripped-down version" of the band. Meanwhile Wilson told CNN: "I'm disappointed and can't understand why Mike doesn't want to tour with Al and me. After all, we are the real Beach Boys".

But in an editorial for the LA Times, Love wrote: "Let me get right to it: I did not fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I cannot fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I am not his employer. I do not have such authority. And even if I did, I would never fire Brian Wilson from the Beach Boys. I love Brian Wilson. We are partners. He's my cousin by birth and my brother in music".

However, he continued, "This tour was always envisioned as a limited run ... Brian, Al and I signed an agreement outlining the beginning and end of the tour. Then, thanks to glowing reviews, the support of our loyal fans (and the prodding of promoters), we amended our agreement to add 25 more dates. As the year went on, Brian and Al wanted to keep the 50th anniversary tour going beyond the 75 dates".

"Like any good party, no one wanted it to end. However, that was impossible, given that we had already set up shows in smaller cities with a different configuration of the band - the configuration that had been touring together every year for the last thirteen years. Brian and Al would not be joining for these small market dates, as was long agreed upon".

Returning to his other line-up of The Beach boys was therefore a business necessity he said: "It is not feasible, both logistically and economically, for the 50th anniversary tour to play these markets. It's vitally important for the smaller markets to experience our live shows, as this is how we've maintained a loyal fan base for 50 years. You can't sustain a fan base on a great catalogue alone. You must take your music directly to the people".

He concluded by saying that, while the reunion tour has been an amazing experience, "The Beach Boys are bigger than those who created it". That said, there doesn't seem to be any suggestion that he might drop out of the touring line-up any time soon.

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EPWORTH ADDS TO WOLF TONE ROSTER
Having last month signed The Weekend collaborator Zodiac, Paul Epworth has now increased the roster of his new music venture, Wolf Note, by a further two artists. And those artists are, specifically, Dominic Betmead of dance music duo The Nextmen (who's been drafted in as a songwriter) and also ex The Rapture bassist Mattie Safer, who'll act both as a songwriter and soloist.

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BLEEDING HEART NARRATIVE RELEASE FAREWELL ALBUM
Following the sad news last month that Oxford sextet Bleeding Heart Narrative are to split after one final live show, the band have released their final album through Bandcamp. Entitled 'Caveats' and featuring twelve previously unreleased tracks, the LP is available on a pay-what-you-want basis.

Announcing the release, the band said: "'Caveats' is a collection of tracks we've accrued up to this point. Some date back a couple of years and some we finished recording just last week. Together they span pretty much the whole range of the kind of stuff we've put out in the past as well as possible directions we were looking to take".

The band's free-to-enter final show will take place at The Victoria in Dalston on 24 Oct - more details here and they will also be John Kennedy's Artists In Residence on his Xfm X-posure show that week, playing a track a night from the band's sessions recorded for the programme.

Listen to and download 'Caveats' here.

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BJÖRK COMPILES FAVOURITE BIOPHILIA REMIXES
Björk has chosen thirteen tracks from her 'Biophilia' remix series for collective release on a compilation titled 'Bastards'. The record features edits by Death Grips, Matthew Herbert, These New Puritans and Omar Souleyman, amongst others, is out in all the normal formats (bar an app, that is) on 19 Nov.

Björk explains all: "I felt it important to gather together the essence of the remixes, so I picked a quarter of them for one CD for people who are perhaps not too sassy downloaders or don't have the time or energy to partake in the hunter-gathering rituals of the internet".

She adds: "I was incredibly impressed by how the core of the mixes took 'Biophilia' somewhere else while still keeping its character, and like they so often do when at their best: the remixes gave the songs more beats; legs to dance on! I spent some time editing together not necessarily the best ones but the ones that made the strongest whole".

Tracklisting:

Crystalline (Omar Souleyman Remix)
Virus (Hudson Mohawke 'Peaches and Guacamol' Rework)
Sacrifice (Death Grips Remix)
Sacrifice (Matthew Herbert's 'Pins And Needles Mix' Edit)
Mutual Core (These New Puritans Remix feat Soloman Is Song)
Hollow (16-bit Remix)
Mutual Core (Matthew Herbert's 'Teutonic Plates' Mix)
Thunderbolt (Death Grips Remix)
Dark Matter (Alva Noto Remodel)
Thunderbolt (Omar Souleyman Remix)
Solstice (Current Value Remix)
Moon (The Slips Remix)
Crystalline (Matthew Herbert Remix)

And here's our favourite from the remix series, which (presumably because of its length) didn't make the cut.

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JAY-Z RELEASING LIVE EP ANY MOMENT NOW
Jay-Z is to release a compilation of live recordings from the eight dates he played at New York's brand new Barclays Center. The rapper - who live-streamed his final set at the new Brooklyn-based arena on Saturday night - will share 'Live In Brooklyn' EP today via iTunes.

In addition to its eight component tracks and videos, it may or may not feature scenes of that 'teach-in' demonstration Occupy Wall Street reps threatened to stage at one of Z's Barclays concerts. OK, it probably won't.

Saying that, something appeared to be distracting Jay-Z at the crucial part of his and Beyonce's 'Crazy In Love' duet, meaning that he missed most of his rap about chinchilla fur. Rumours that the primary cause was Beyonce's leather dress are as yet unsubstantiated.

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FIDLAR DETAIL EPONYMOUS WICHITA DEBUT, NEW LIVE DATES
LA's FIDLAR will celebrate their recent addition to the Wichita Recordings roster with an eponymous debut LP soon (well, quite soon), in the form of the fourteen-track 'FIDLAR' on 4 Feb 2013. They're also booked to play London's Dingwalls on 4 Dec, and Manchester's Soup Kitchen on 6 Dec.

In honour of all of the above, this is a studio version of 'White On White', followed by a 'FIDLAR' tracklisting.

Tracklisting:

Cheap Beer
Stoked & Broke
White On White
No Waves
Whore
Max Can't Surf
Black Out Stout
Wake Bake Skate
Gimme Something
Five To Nine
LDA
Paycheck
Wait For The Man
Cocaine

Oh and NB, since last writing about the band I've learned that FIDLAR is an acronym for 'fuck it, dog, life's a risk', so that's nice.

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FOALS ADD SHOWS
Math-rock grads Foals have just promised to take a mid-sized tour in late November/early December. The band have no new LP to promote at the moment, so the dates will most likely just be mini sounding-boards for new material. Hurrah!

And they are:

28 Nov: Sheffield, Queens Social Club
29 Nov: Leicester, Lock 42
30 Nov: Stoke, Sugarmill
2 Dec: Doncaster, Leopard
3 Dec: Derby, The Venue
4 Dec: Gloucester, Guildhall
6 Dec: Southampton, Cellar
7 Dec: Bournemouth, 60 Million Lights
8 Dec: Aldershot, West End Centre
10 Dec: Brighton, Concorde 2
11 Dec: Tunbridge Wells Forum

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LEONA LEWIS TOURING ANON
Leona Lewis's people have published official details of the tour she was whispering shyly about on Sunday night's episode of 'The X-Factor'. Leona, as you're all aware, releases her much-postponed new LP 'Glassheart' on Monday (15 Oct).

This is the video for her quite likeable new single, aka the one she sang very loudly on 'X-Factor', here.

Tour dates:

29 Apr: Ipswich, Theatre
30 Apr: Nottingham Royal Centre
2 May: Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle
3 May: City Hall, Sheffield
5 May: Brighton, Brighton Centre
6 May: Birmingham, National Indoor Arena
8 May: London, Royal Albert Hall
9 May: London, Royal Albert Hall
11 May: Oxford, New Theatre
12 May: Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff
14 May: Manchester, OApollo
15 May: Liverpool, Echo Arena
17 May: Bournemouth, International Centre
18 May: Plymouth, Pavilions

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FESTIVAL LINE-UP ADDITIONS

BEARDED THEORY, Kedleston Hall Park, Derby, 17-19 May 2013: Gallon Drunk, The Zen Hussies, The Caezards, Tankus The Henge, The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing. www.beardedtheory.co.uk

PRIMAVERA SOUND, Parc del Forum, Barcelona, Spain, 22-26 May 2013: Blur. www.primaverasound.com

SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL, Solvesborg, Sweden, 5-8 Jun 2013: Kiss, Amon Amarth, UFO, Morgana Lefay, The Scams. www.swedenrock.com

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THE-DREAM GIVEN A&R ROLE AT DEF JAM
Writer/producer The-Dream, aka Terius Nash, who has worked with everyone from Bieber to Beyonce to Mary J Blige, has been appointed as VP of A&R for Universal's Def Jam division in the US.

In his new role, Nash "will have a comprehensive, broad reaching A&R portfolio", working alongside Island Def Jam CEO Barry Weiss and IDJ Head Of A&R Karen Kwa, amongst others. He will also continue to head up his own label Radio Killa Records, already distributed by Def Jam.

According to Billboard, Nash says of his new job: "Music means more than just a download, it's life to the culture and also the people who listen. This is a new exciting yet critical time for music - 'You Meet Change with Change!'" So that's nice.

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PRIMARY TALENT RECRUIT THREE NEW AGENTS
Live agency Primary Talent International has just recruited three new agents, according to Music Week. The three new recruits, Howard Gray, Nick Reddick and Michael Harvey-Bray, specialise in dance genres, and have worked together for a few years, initially via Gray's Reprise Agency, and later at Mainstage Artists.

Primary Talent MD Peter Elliott says: "We are very excited that Howard, Michael and Nick have chosen to join the team at Primary. They are three very exciting young agents, with a creativity and understanding of the rapidly evolving trends in contemporary dance music".

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YOUTUBE LAUNCHES UK-BASED ORIGINAL CHANNELS
YouTube has launched 60 original channels in the UK, part of the Google-owned firm's 'Original Channels' venture, which went live in the US this time last year.

The video site has teamed up with a portfolio of media owners and celebrities on its new channels, including ITN, All3Media, BBC Worldwide and Mixmag. The initiative sees YouTube, which traditionally has provided a platform and ad revenues for existing content but no investment into new material, pumping some of its own cash into content generation. In the US it was reported Google made $100 million available for the launch of its original channels there.

Commenting on the rationale behind the original channels venture, Ben McOwen Wilson, Director of YouTube EMEA, told The Guardian: "Although some [of our] partners were making successful businesses out of creating content on YouTube, it was not happening at the scale or the pace that we would love to see it happening, or as widely in terms of genre. [Original Channels] is accelerating that, jumpstarting it, to get more partners working with us to create original content for the platform".

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BBC LAUNCHES NEW RADIO PLAYER
The BBC has launched a new online hub for its radio services, which will be available via PC, smartphone and tablet devices (well, iPhone and iPad for now, Android is to follow). The new platform promises a "new radio experience", with functions including track info and share functions, a touchscreen dial and swipe-able programme guide, plus an inbuilt alarm clock, so you can wake up to Nick, Nicky, John, Shaun or Chris, should you so wish. More widgets are promised down the line.

Launching the new platform, the Beeb's GM for Programmes & On-Demand, Daniel Danker, said yesterday: "BBC iPlayer Radio is radio for an audience that expects to access our content anywhere: now you truly can take BBC Radio with you wherever you go. It's also radio for an audience that wants greater choice and control. They want to listen again when they choose, to personalise their listening experience, to share tracks they've discovered with friends. BBC iPlayer Radio delivers all of these things, in a simple, consistent, easy to navigate way. At the heart of it is the BBC's quality radio programmes, and iPlayer Radio sets those programmes free like never before".

You can access the new flim flam at bbc.co.uk/radio. Though BBC radio is still also available through the standard iPlayer for the time being too. And via the long-time-in-development BBC-and-commercial-stations-together UK RadioPlayer, which seems ever more pointless with every new BBC online initiative.

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ONE DIRECTION WON'T PLAY IN JAKARTA BECAUSE THE FANS AREN'T BUYING RECORDS
The message from Sony Music Indonesia to pop loving kids in the country is clear. Buy some flippin records or you won't be getting any One Direction concerts.

According to The Jakarta Post, the MD of Sony's base in the region, Toto Widjojo, said at a press conference yesterday: "One Direction cannot come to Indonesia because they see rampant CD piracy and rising illegal downloads here. [One Direction's] album sales are not as high [here] as those in Australia".

He added that if the group's CD sales increased in the region, he could foresee a day when the 1D boys might grant Indonesia with a visit.

Of course a cynic might argue that if 1D aren't selling any records in Jakarta, but there's a definite fanbase there, then live activity should be stepped up in the city so to allow the group to access their fans' rupiahs that way. Though presumably Sony Music Indonesia has no vested interest in that approach.

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LADY GAGA VOMITS ON STAGE
In an unparalleled feat of professionalism, Lady Gaga has been filmed conquering a fit of Bieber-esque on-stage vomiting at a concert in Barcelona. Remarkable really, especially that she manages to sing, dance and be sick all at the same time. I blame milk, and spaghetti.

So bypassing any further ridicule - because she really doesn't deserve it - here is a vom-proof Gaga now, teetering queasily on 'The Edge Of Glory'. I'm sure she'd want us all to watch it.

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