The first CMU Daily of 2013 will hit inboxes on Monday morning, though we've been reporting on the bigger music business stories over the Christmas break too on theCMUwebsite.com, and you will find links to all those stories in this email, in case you're looking for a quick catch up.
Meanwhile, if you can spare one moment, let me take this opportunity to update you on some CMU things...
01: CMU DAILY - 23,000 music people can't be wrong!
The CMU Daily e-bulletin - which celebrated its tenth birthday in June - is now received by 23,000+ music people daily, making it the most-read daily news round-up for the UK music business. Truly bringing together the wider music industry - from the leaders of the biggest music companies to grass root labels, managers, promoters, artists and songwriters - the free CMU Daily bulletin really is the Complete Music Update for the complete music community
But there is always room for more! Why not start the new year by telling your colleagues about the Daily or, if you are currently signed up to a different CMU mailing list, why not get the full experience? Sign up for free at www.thecmuwebsite.com/subscribe
02: CMU ONLINE - even more services from CMU
In addition to the 23,000+ music people who receive the CMU Daily each morning, over a 100,000 music fans now visit theCMUwebsite.com each month, where you will find all the stories that appear in the Daily, plus interviews, columns, playlists and the CMU podcast. For regular updates on new content on theCMUwebsite.com, plus breaking news and other bits n pieces, you should follow CMU on Twitter, @CMU.
The website also hosts the CMU archives, every issue of the CMU Daily plus searchable news stories going back to March 2009. And we'll be putting more of the CMU archives live as we move towards our fifteenth birthday in May. For some of the biggest developing stories we also have special timelines that let you plot developments from the beginning to today - check out timelines tracking the EMI sale, MegaUpload, Grooveshark, ReDigi and digital royalties stories right now.
As well as theCMUwebsite.com and Twitter feed, you'll also find CMU on Facebook and we provide extra tips and links on Tumblr.
03: CMU ADVERTISING - make an impact
With the CMU Daily read by all the key influencers and decision makers in British music, and theCMUwebsite.com read by 100,000 music fans each month, we can now offer excellent ad packages for any company with products, services, releases or events to promote to the people who make music happen in the UK, and who set the agenda in the wider music community.
CMU Jobs is a proven way to attract the brightest talent for music industry roles, while banner and classified ads in the Daily and on theCMUwebsite.com truly make an impact. Section sponsorship will also be available from this spring, for companies and organisations that want to engage the music community on a regular basis, and recognise the value in helping us keep the complete music community updated.
Call 020 7099 9050 or email [email protected] to discuss all of these opportunities.
04: CMU INSIGHTS - training courses and consulting services
For the uninitiated, CMU Insights is the training and consulting side of what we do. We currently offer four acclaimed one-day training courses for music business professionals, covering music rights, music business models, music PR and social media, plus later this month we will launch a brand new ten-week evening course providing a full overview of the music industry in 2013. Book for upcoming courses right now here.
We also provide bespoke training and consulting services to music companies, or digital, media and marketing companies operating in the music space. We develop training courses to meet each specific client's needs, which we then deliver in-house. Meanwhile our consultants produce guides and research reports for music companies, while advising one-to-one on current trends and best practice in the management, marketing and monetisation of music in the digital age. For more information contact [email protected]
05: THE GREAT ESCAPE - Europe's leading festival for new music
The CMU Insights team will once again programme the convention side of The Great Escape in Brighton this May, Europe's leading festival for new music and the UK's premiere music business conference.
Expect another unbeatable line-up of music, media and digital experts and innovators taking part in panels, conversations and insight sessions, plus the biggest programme of networking events in TGE's history. And that's before you add in the 300+ new artists playing in venues across Brighton. Look out for announcements on this year's convention and festival programmes very soon, but meantime get yourself your delegates pass to ensure access to it all.
06: CMU PODCAST - download some CMU to your phone each month
And finally, don't forget that you can get a monthly dose of CMU in audio form via the CMU Podcast. December's 'review of the year' edition is still available, plus you can sign up via iTunes, RSS or Stitcher to make sure you get new editions as they go live each month. Play, download and sign up here.
And that is enough plugging to be getting on which. Have a great 2013 - we look forward to filling your inboxes each week day with all the key developments in music and the music business.
Andy MaltCMU Editor
CMU CHRISTMAS BREAK NEWS CATCH-UP
While the CMU Daily has been on its Christmas break, we have still been reporting on the bigger music business stories at theCMUwebsite.com. For a quick catch up, here is a digest of all the stories published since the last edition of the CMU Daily. The CMU Daily will return as normal on Monday.
WATKINS REMANDED IN CUSTODY UNTIL MARCH
Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins made a short appearance in a Cardiff court on 31 Dec to hear the grim charges that have been made against him.
Click here to read the full story
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IRVING AZOFF DEPARTS LIVE NATION
Irving Azoff has exited Live Nation Entertainment, where he has shared the top job with Michael Rapino since the merger of the Live Nation and Ticketmaster companies in 2010.
Click here to read the full story
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HMV LENDERS RESISTING APOLLO APPROACH
Most of HMV's money lenders are currently resisting efforts by Wall Street firm Apollo Global Management to buy up the debts of the flagging entertainment retailer, according to the Mail On Sunday.
Click here to read the full story
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UNIVERSAL FACES £150 MILLION LIABILITY IF HMV GOES UNDER, SAYS TELEGRAPH
According to the Telegraph, it was Universal Music that ended up with EMI's liability for the leases on 40 HMV stores, something that could become a £150 million problem if the entertainment retailer was to go under.
Click here to read the full story
DRAKE CALLS FOR CLUB BRAWL LAWSUIT TO BE DISMISSED
Drake has filed legal papers in the US asking a judge to dismiss legal action being pursued against him in relation to that brawl that occurred in June in a New York bar between his and Chris Brown's posses.
Click here to read the full story
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BRITNEY ACCUSED OF CREDIT CARD FRAUD AND BLACKMAIL BY EX-BROTHER-IN-LAW IN DUBIOUS LAWSUIT
Britney Spears' former brother-in-law has accused the pop star of charging over $4500 to his credit card, and then blackmailing him into keeping quiet about the whole affair by threatening to reveal that he is the father of her eldest son Sean Preston.
Click here to read the full story
FONTELLA BASS 1940-2012
Fontella Bass, best known for her 1965 hit 'Rescue Me', has died after suffering a heart attack last month.
Click here to read the full obituary
HAIM NAMED BBC 2013 WINNERS
Having counted down the top five acts in the BBC Sound Of 2013 over the course of this week, the time has come for the winner to be named. And so, the group we will apparently hearing most of in 2013, according to the polled group of 213 writers and broadcasters, are Haim. There you go.
Click here to read the full story here
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MUSICAL HONOURS IN QUEEN'S NEW YEARS LIST
Although sports dominated this time round as the Queen opted for an Olympics Special with her annual New Years Honours list, Her Maj still found some time to slap the backs and ruffle the hair of some notable music people too.
Click here to read the full story here
DIGITAL CONTINUES TO BOOM AS ALBUM SALES CONTINUE TO SLIDE; AND SANDÉ SCORES BEST SELLING ALBUM OF 2012
While the digital music domain threw up all sorts of positive stats again in 2012, album sales were still down 11.2% overall, new figures from record label trade body the BPI and the Official Charts Company reveal today.
Click here to read the full story
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DIGITAL CONTENT SALES EXCEED £1 BILLION, BUT ENTERTAINMENT RETAIL SALES DOWN OVERALL
Annual digital content sales exceeded a billion pounds for the first time in 2012, according to figures published by the Entertainment Retailers Association. Though, while digital sales are close to surpassing physical product sales in the British recorded music sector, when gaming and especially video releases are taken into the mix, physical products still account for about three quarters of entertainment retail overall. Digital music, video and gaming products generated £1.033 billion last year, according to ERA's figures, which is 11.4% up on 2011. Physical products were down 17.6% overall, but still outsold digital threefold.
Click here to read the full story
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MP3 PLAYER SALES SLUMP AMIDST SMARTPHONE BOOM
Proving that the MP3 Player – or 'Portable Media Player' as some prefer – was always a temporary phenomenon in the digital music domain, new research by Mintel shows that revenues generated by the sale of such devices in the UK fell 22% this year compared to last, to £381 million. And the research firm reckons that by 2017, sales of standalone digital music devices will be generating half that, and maybe as little as £25 million.
Click here to read the full story
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JUSTICE COLLECTIVE SCORE CHRISTMAS NUMBER ONE
The Justice Collective, the group of artists raising money to support the families of those who died in the 1989 Hillsborough Tragedy, scored the Christmas number one for 2012. Paul McCartney, Melanie C, Robbie Williams, Holly Johnson and Beverly Knight are amongst the artists who appear on the charity cover of The Hollies' 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother', all of whom have appeared on previous Christmas number ones, either in their own right or as part of other all-star charity records.
Click here to read the full story
SONISPHERE UK CANCELLED AGAIN – 2013 EDITION PULLED
Another UK festival has announced it is cancelling its 2013 edition and will not return until 2014. Sonisphere was one of the higher profile casualties of the 2012 festival season, with the UK date of the metal fest being pulled in March, despite most of its line-up having been confirmed. But at the recent UK Festivals Conference, the boss of the festival's promotor, Kilimajaro Live's Stuart Galbraith, said plans were well underway for Sonisphere UK to return next summer, calling the 2012 cancellation a "hiccup".
Click here to read the full story
BMG BUYS VIRGIN AND FAMOUS UK PUBLISHING CATALOGUES
BMG has announced the acquisition of the UK-based music publishing catalogues that Sony/ATV was forced to sell as part of its acquisition of EMI Music Publishing.
Click here to read the full story
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BMG ACQUIRES MUTE CATALOGUE
In the second of two acquisitions of former EMI catalogues, German-based music rights company BMG has secured ownership of the original Mute archive.
Click here to read the full story
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SONY MAN WIESENTHAL JOINS WARNER MUSIC
The Sony exec who oversaw the acquisition of EMI Music Publishing by a Sony/ATV-led consortium is to join Warner Music as Chief Operating Officer.
Click here to read the full story
SPIN MAGAZINE CONFIRMS PRINT EDITION SHUTTING
Spin magazine has confirmed that it is axing its print edition, having been taken over by online media company Buzzmedia back in July. Despite much speculation that it would make the title online only, the American music mag's new owners would not commit on the future of the printed Spin when it first acquired it, although some autumn editions were dropped out of the schedule.
Click here to read the full story
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PAPARAZZO DIES IN TRAFFIC ACCIDENT WHILE TRYING TO SNAP BIEBER
An American paparazzo has died after being hit by a vehicle as he photographed another car that he believed was carrying Justin Bieber.
Click here to read the full story
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BBC FAILS TO REACH DEAL WITH NEW WELSH-LANGUAGE COLLECTING SOCIETY
The BBC's welsh language radio station Radio Cymru has had to alter its schedules, and will broadcast more English-language songs, after failing to reach an agreement with a new collecting society launched in Wales to represent over 300 Welsh-speaking artists.
Click here to read the full story
JAKE REIMAGINES THAT MOST FAMOUS FESTIVE CHART BATTLE FOR SINGLES CHART 60TH
The Official Charts Company has published a comic re-telling of the most famous Christmas number one battle of recent years as part of its ongoing '60 years of the singles chart' celebrations.
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