Music Week articles from April 2008

Music Week archives from April 2008

Industry tackles private copying.
April 12, 2008... The `historical inevitability' of home copying to be dealt with by Music Business Group's 10 members this week The music industry's key organisations are uniting this morning (Monday) to hatch a bold plan to tackle format shifting. The...

THE PLAY LIST: 12.04.08.
April 12, 2008... Annie I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me (Island) With Richard X at the controls, Annie has delivered a song with the commercial bite to drive her deeper into commercial radio's heartland. (single, June 9) Lil' Mama Shawty Get...

Sign Here: 12.04.08.
April 12, 2008... Raw Power Management artists In Case Of Fire signed both recording and publishing deals within hours of each other last Thursday. The band put pen to paper with Martin Dodds at Columbia at 3.30pm, before departing for EMI where they signed with...

Radio holds breath over #375m GCap sale.
April 12, 2008... Industry hopes Global's takeover of commercial radio rival will finally create powerhouse to take on financial clout of the BBC, as Competition Commission prepares to examine deal The UK's commercial radio industry will be watching intently...

THE BIG QUESTION: GCap Media.
April 12, 2008... Is the takeover of GCap Media by Global Radio a good thing for the music industry? Steve Betts, Radio Promotions "It remains to be seen how big it's going to be, but the bigger the group gets, the harder it is for new artists to get...

Ups And Downs: 12.04.08.
April 12, 2008... UPS Jools Holland's new Tuesday night slot attracted 1.2m viewers, even more than Friday night Congratulations to everyone who picked up a trophy at the Music Week Awards Well done Mariah for surpassing Elvis in the number one...

Absolute eyes up SMG's #60m Virgin.
April 12, 2008... Before the radio industry has a chance to catch its breath, a fresh batch of consolidation could be on the cards imminently with the sale of SMG's Virgin Radio portfolio. The speculated buyer here is Absolute Radio. It is the second...

IN BRIEF: Burnham promises to make his mark on music industry.
April 12, 2008... Government minister Andy Burnham promised that he was determined to do "one really big thing" for the music industry at last week's Kickz event. The Culture Secretary told Music Week that he was absolutely determined to make his mark at the...

IN BRIEF: Woolworths results.
April 12, 2008... Woolworths has posted increased profits for the year to February, but it is warning of difficult times ahead for music sales. The retailer reported profits before tax of #28.3m for the year to February 2, up from #21.8m the previous year. The...

IN BRIEF: EMI appointment.
April 12, 2008... EMI has appointed former Google chief information officer Douglas Merrill to lead its digital music business. As EMI Music president of digital business, Merrill will head a new global function bringing together leadership responsibility for...

IN BRIEF: BBC and Radiohead offer free download.
April 12, 2008... BBC Radio is offering a free download of a track Radiohead performed last week during a series of events for the corporation. The live recording of In Rainbows album track Videotape is available to download from www.bbc.co.uk/radiohead until...

IN BRIEF: 1.2m viewers for Jools Holland.
April 12, 2008... The first live edition of BBC2 flagship music show Later...with Jools Holland pulled in 1.2m viewers last Tuesday night. The result gave it a 6% audience share between 10pm and 1030pm. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: BPI publishes details.
April 12, 2008... The BPI has published details of what it hopes to achieve in partnership with internet service providers in the fight against online piracy, after denying reports that it has agreed a deal with Virgin Media. The BPI has set up a website...

IN BRIEF: Mariah Carey renews publishing agreement.
April 12, 2008... Mariah Carey has renewed her worldwide publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing. The deal comes on the eve of the release of Carey's new album E=MC2, released April 14. The album features songs co- written by Carey with a variety of...

Research suggests digital consumption offset physical slump "by 2010".
April 12, 2008... Jupiter Research claims the music industry's period of transition will end with a three-tiered, multi-platform digital model based around consumption A new generation of "platform-agnostic" music services, blurring the distinction between...

Galbraith flexes Green credentials in Big board move.
April 12, 2008... Former Live Nation managing director Stuart Galbraith has joined the board of the Big Green Gathering, Europe's biggest environmentally- themed music festival. The move is the latest attempt by Galbraith to expand the activities of his...

Is this a Global warning to the Beeb's dominance?
April 12, 2008... Global's acquisition of GCap raises many questions about commercial radio, but can the sector return to power? The speed of change that has been occurring in the UK's commercial radio sector these past few months makes the record business...

Mum's the word for Sony/ATV exploitation.
April 12, 2008... The second phase of Sony/ATV's groundbreaking "Rock And Roll Baby" collaboration with Mothercare, using the publisher's lyrics on a selection of baby wear, will kick off this autumn. The initiative follows the creation last week of a worldwide...

New EMI man talks DRM.
April 12, 2008... EMI Music's new digital president has spoken out about his opposition to digital rights management and promised "some really interesting" projects going forward. The major announced last Wednesday that former Google chief information...

IN BRIEF: Virgin DJ to appear at Radio Academy event at Indig02.
April 12, 2008... Virgin Radio's Christian O'Connell is to host a day dedicated to making radio stations and programmes sound better, connect better with listeners and expand successfully onto other platforms. O'Connell will be appearing at The Radio Academy's...

IN BRIEF: GCap results.
April 12, 2008... GCap's total revenue is forecast to rise by 4% on a like-for-like basis for the year ending March 31. Like-for-like radio advertising revenues are forecast to be up 3% year-on-year and a rise in unique online users of 48% year-on-year - to in...

IN BRIEF: Live Natinal signs deal with U2.
April 12, 2008... Live Nation has signed a 12-year deal with U2, giving the concert promoter exclusive rights over the Irish band's concerts, merchandise, website and online fan club. Live Nation will not have any involvement with recordings or publishing of...

IN BRIEF: 2008 Classical Brits.
April 12, 2008... Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman and Nigel Kennedy are to perform at the 2008 Classical Brits, which takes place on May 8 at London's Royal Albert Hall. The ceremony, which will be hosted by Myleene Klass, will be broadcast on Thursday, May 15...

IN BRIEF: iTunes takes number one US music retailer spot.
April 12, 2008... Apple's iTunes has replaced supermarket group Wal-Mart as the largest music retailer in the US, according to an independent study. Market research firm NPD says on the basis of 12 downloads being equal to an album, iTunes sales surpassed...

IN BRIEF: MySpace jv.
April 12, 2008... MySpace has announced the formation of a joint venture music service in the US that will see the expansion of its music offering and the introduction of an ad-supported, DRM-free download model. The social networking site has partnered with...

IN BRIEF: Havas Media buys Cake.
April 12, 2008... Havas Media has bought branded entertainment agency Cake, as part of its continuing strategy to consolidate growth in key major markets and increases its presence in the UK. Cake will join a roster of eight other specialist branded...

IN BRIEF: Virgin Radio results.
April 12, 2008... Virgin Radio saw an 87% increase in profits in 2007 on the back of strong advertising sales. Profits at the station, which is currently up for sale, were #4.3m for 2007, compared to #2.3m in 2006. Parent company SMG, which itself posted a 30%...

IN BRIEF: Local Radio experiencing positive trading conditions.
April 12, 2008... The Local Radio Company says it is experiencing positive trading conditions, expecting revenues for the previous six months to increase by 5% overall and 4% on a like-for-like basis. The company says revenues from national sales through its...

`Gang of 10' deal.
April 12, 2008... Music Business Group unite this week to tackle key private copyright recommendation in Gowers consultation The Music Business Group is backing up its joint industry proposal on private copying with some of the most up-to-date statistics...

Indie stores form coalition.
April 12, 2008... Fifteen of the biggest names in UK indie retail are coming together to form a coalition of stores that will fight for independent interests. The group, which goes under the banner of the Coalition of UK Indie Stores, includes names such as...

PRIVATE COPYING.
April 12, 2008... * Less than 3% of music stored on a typical iPod is a copyright- protected download from a store such as iTunes * 97% of content is ripped from CDs * 94.5% of people engage in some form of copying * 20 of 25 EU countries operate a...

Lucky 13 for EMI with narrow victory in 2007 publishing battle.
April 12, 2008... EMI hangs on to secure a 13th successive victory despite a strong challenge from Universal which, bolstered by its 2007 aquisition of BMG, begins 2008 full of optimism. Elsewhere, Leona Lewis and Sugababes inspire Kobalt to a runaway share of...

Kobalt performs heroics in the indie sector.
April 12, 2008... Kobalt has only been in existence since 2000, but such has been its rapid rise that last year it took control of more than a quarter of the UK's independent publishing sector. The company, which was formed by CEO Willard Ahdritz, finished...

A breath of fresh air at South West Sound.
April 12, 2008... Now in its fifth year, the Bristol and Totnes-based South West Sound festival is attracting more attention than ever, thanks to a recent tie- up with South By South West and a strong selection of participants lined up for this year. Music Week...

Presenting 16 of the best from the South West.
April 12, 2008... This track-by-track guide to your exclusive Music Week CD gives you the lowdown on the cream of South West Sound 2008 1. The Locarnos: Give It To Me Straight A firm favourite here at Music Week, The Locarnos recently released this...

Strat winner Wadsworth reflects on `funny old year'.
April 12, 2008... Tributes pour in for industry veteran Tony Wadsworth, recipient of Music Week's coveted Strat Award A respectful audience listened in silence as former EMI chairman and CEO Tony Wadsworth expressed his surprise and delight at being awarded...

Factory designer Saville salutes friend Wilson's creative spirit.
April 12, 2008... The man behind Factory Records' iconic artwork paid tribute to Tony Wilson in the first Music Week Awards since the Factory Records co- founder passed away last August. Legendary designer Peter Saville, who started Factory with Wilson,...

Winehouse's Grammys night had `wow' factor.
April 12, 2008... Amy Winehouse's manager Raye Cosbert reflected on an incredible 2007 after being named Manager of the Year at this year's Music Week Awards. He was handed the honour at last Thursday's event by long-time friend and fellow manager David...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Record Company Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: RCA Recognising commercial and creative success, the Record Company Of The Year category is won by Sony BMG's RCA which, under the leadership of managing director Craig Logan, enjoyed a bumper year led by the runaway success of...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: The Strat.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: TONY WADSWORTH Humphrey Bogart's line in Casablanca "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" could have been written for Tony Wadsworth when he arrived at EMI back in 1982. As it was, Bogie's influence had been...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Independent Record Company Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: MINISTRY OF SOUND The award for Independent Record Company Of The Year recognises the independent company which has achieved the most in terms of commercial and creative success over the previous year. It is four years since...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: A&R Award.
April 12, 2008... WINNER - ISLAND Polydor was victorious in the A&R category in 2007, winning the award for the part it played in the successes of James Morrison, Klaxons and Take That. This year, it is awarded to sister Universal company Island...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Manager Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: RAYE COSBERT Through his role managing Amy Winehouse, Raye Cosbert has been an influential driving force in the career of one of the UK's most successful artists of recent years. Having promoted the singer's concerts from day one,...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Publisher Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING Thirteen proved to be anything but unlucky for EMI Music Publishing as it claimed the music publishing crown for an incredible 13th consecutive year. But it was one of the toughest battles yet for Guy...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Recognition Of Services To Music Retail.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: PAUL QUIRK For many in the music business Paul Quirk represents everything that is special about independent music retail: he is intelligent and charming and has a real passion for music and a head for innovative business ideas....

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Distributor Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: UNIVERSAL In a category dominated in recent years by EMI, Universal has ended a four-year hiatus to reclaim the title of Distributor Of The Year by beating the competition on both physical and digital products. Daily contact...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Producer Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: JAMES FORD As the man behind the desk for both Arctic Monkeys' second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, and Klaxons' Mercury Music Prize-winning debut, Myths Of The Near Future, James Ford was instrumental in two of last year's...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Concert Promoter Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER - SIMON MORAN, SJM In a year that saw the big names out in force, led by the return of the Spice Girls, Prince and Led Zeppelin, with 10.7m fans visiting the National Arena Association's 16 venues alone, concert promoters were...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Venue Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: THE O2 ARENA With live music booming the UK's network of venues is being given a facelift. From behemoths like Wembley Arena and The O2 to intimate niche venues such as Islington's Union Chapel, music fans and artists have never...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Sales Force Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: PIAS As hard fought as in previous years, the Sales Force of the Year award was judged on product knowledge, depth of advance information, telesales customer care, field sales reliability and specialist knowledge with the team at...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: High Street Retail Store Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: ROUGH TRADE EAST In a very difficult year for music retail as a whole and independent music retail in particular, Rough Trade has stood out like a glittering sore thumb. Most notably, at a time when indie retailers were closing...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Online Music Store Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: Play.com Play.com has long been one of the bigger players in UK music retail, enjoying a 2.3% share of the albums market in 2006, ahead of names such as Fopp, Morrisons and WH Smith. However, 2007 was the year that saw it really...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Regional Promotions Team Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: POLYDOR Last year Polydor stole the title from Sony BMG and has justifiably held onto it for a second year. Its continuing success this year is best summed up by the fact that the company had a staggering seven records in the top...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: National Promotions Team Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: ISLAND RECORDS Island continues its success with a second consecutive win, defending its title while raising the bar even further this year. The Sugababes ended the year totally rejuvenated at radio and the team successfully...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: National Radio Station Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: RADIO TWO It says a lot about just how much Radio Two is spoilt for great broadcasting talent that the audio part of its entry for this year's Music Week Awards failed to find any room for such station mainstays as Steve Wright and...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Regional Radio Station Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: CLYDE 1 As one of the UK's first-ever ILR stations, Clyde 1 has been part of the landscape of Glasgow and West of Scotland for 35 years and is happy to reflect its geography in its musical mix. While commercial radio is often...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Digital Achievement Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: OUTSIDE LINE WITH NOW PLAY IT A new category this year, the Digital Achievement of the Year award celebrates the best digital music based-product of 2007 with the judges looking at a number of factors such as innovation in...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Music And Brand Partnership Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: THE O2 & AEG EUROPE This new award category celebrating the best in music and brand partnerships attracted an unprecedented volume of submissions, but it was not just about quantity. The sheer variety also impressed, ranging from...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Artist Marketing Campaign Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: TED COCKLE & TOM MARCH, ISLAND RECORDS, FOR MIKA - LIFE IN CARTOON MOTION The judging panel agreed the artist marketing campaigns for big names, new acts and greatest hits collections showed just how strong the collective...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Catalogue Marketing Campaign Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: HIK SASAKI, RHINO UK/WARNER MUSIC, FOR LED ZEPPELIN - MOTHERSHIP Despite the obvious fact that a big budget means big marketing possibilities, and with tight competition coming from projects that utilised a mere fraction of the...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: Music Sync Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING, EMI RECORDS AND I10Q FOR CADBURYS DAIRY MILK - GORILLA (PHIL COLLINS - IN THE AIR TONIGHT) There can be few more memorable music-based adverts than this maverick creative by the Fallon advertising agency. ...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2008: PR Campaign Of The Year.
April 12, 2008... WINNER: STUART BELL, THE OUTSIDE ORGANISATION, FOR PAUL MCCARTNEY As events at the High Court have reiterated recently, Paul McCartney can still accumulate column inches almost as easily as when he was a quarter of the Fab Four. But...

Music Upfront - 12.04.08.
April 12, 2008... Out this week Singles Elliot Minor Parallel Worlds (Repossession) previous single: Still Figuring Out (chart peak 17) Foo Fighters Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running) (RCA) previous single: Long Road To Ruin (35) ...

Music Upfront - 12.04.08: Album of the week.
April 12, 2008... The Courteeners St Jude (A&M) The Courteeners' debut album hit the HMV shelves at midnight yesterday (Sunday), with the Mancunians performing and signing copies before heading off to HMV Oxford Street for another in-store appearance today....

Music Upfront - 12.04.08: Single of the week.
April 12, 2008... September Cry For You (Hard2Beat) This is only Hard2Beat's third single, but the dance label has already scored a number one and number two earlier this year with Basshunter and H Two O respectively. Cry For You was originally released in...

Music Upfront - 12.04.08: Catalogue reviews.
April 12, 2008... Dusty Springfield: Gold (Mercury 5304171) Such was the quality of her output, it is almost impossible to release a bad compilation of Dusty Springfield material. As luck would have it, this is one of the best, a sprawling 51-song...

MUSIC UPFRONT - 12.04.08: The Panel.
April 12, 2008... Jim Lahat (BBC London) David Cronenberg's Wife: My Best Friend's Going Out With A Girl Like (Blang) This five-piece London-based band back up a great name with a great single. Like a cross between Clinic and Suicide, they can only be...

FUTURE RELEASE: Noah and The Whale.
April 12, 2008... Noah And The Whale Proving South by South West is not all barbeques and beer, Noah And The Whale returned from the Texan event with a US record deal last month. The band have signed to Interscope imprint Cherrytree Records, joining a...

FUTURE RELEASE: Royworld.
April 12, 2008... Royworld Virgin signings Royworld will be joined by a string quartet for a special acoustic performance on the steps of Westminster Library in London this week. The performance marks the final date on their national Get It Loud In...

DATAFILE EXPOSURE: 12.04.08.
April 12, 2008... After seven weeks at the top of the radio airplay chart, Duffy's Mercy tumbles to number five. Although Mercy is still by far the most-played song on the Music Control panel - it was aired 2,505 times last week, nearly 600 more than the second...

Instore: 12.04.08.
April 12, 2008... Asda Instore Display: Elliot Minor, Mariah Carey, Sarah Brightman Borders Instore Display: Elliot Minor, Mariah Carey, The Kooks CWNN Album of the week: Crystal Castles Instore Display: Speck Mountain, The Accidental,...

CLUB CHARTS: 12.04.08.
April 12, 2008... Sweeping aside all comers, The Wideboys' Daddy O - featuring a guest vocal from All Saints' Shaznay Lewis - is an emphatic number one on both the Upfront and Commercial Pop charts this week. The Wideboys - Eddie Craig and Jim Sullivan -...

Atlantic duos continue to dominate chart peak as single figures dip.
April 12, 2008... Sales of singles fell last week to 1,838,895 - the lowest level for 16 weeks. With the download sector accounting for 94.8% of singles sales and relying to a much greater extent on catalogue tracks than was hitherto the case, singles sales...

DATAFILE SINGLES - 12.04.08: The Kooks.
April 12, 2008... The Kooks are the only act to lift six Top 40 hits off an album in the 21st century. The Brighton band achieved this impressive feat with songs lifted from their 2006 debut album, Inside In/Inside Out. Their eagerly-awaited second album Konk is...

DATAFILE SINGLES - 12.04.08: Mariah Carey.
April 12, 2008... Mariah Carey storms to her 18th number one in America with Touch My Body on download alone this week, but the song makes a more modest number six bow here (21,179 sales), despite being available on two CDs, 12-inch and download. Carey has had...

DATAFILE SINGLES - 12.04.08: The Courteeners.
April 12, 2008... After reaching number 192 with Cavorting last August, number 44 with Acrylic in October, and number 20 with What Took You So Long in January, The Courteeners continue their upwards progress with fourth single Not Nineteen Forever debuting this...

DATAFILE SINGLES - 12.04.08: Radiohead.
April 12, 2008... Nude is the second single from Radiohead's In Rainbows album. Debuting at number 21 on sales of 7,295, it is the follow-up to Jigsaw Falling Into Place, which reached number 30 in January, and Radiohead's 18th hit. Its success in attracting...

Rapid sales movement spells all change at albums chart summit.
April 12, 2008... Their single Supernatural Superserious peaked at number 54 seven weeks ago but REM still have enough clout to register their eighth number one album to date and their fourth of the 21st century, with Accelerate. First-week sales of 60,778 are...

DATAFILE ALBUMS - 12.04.08: Estelle.
April 12, 2008... With introductory single American Boy holding firm atop the singles chart, Estelle's second album Shine debuts at number six on sales of 16,129. Firmly establishing itself as the highest-charting album of that fairly common title (it replaces...

DATAFILE ALBUMS - 12.04.08: Gnarls Barkley.
April 12, 2008... With 88 plays in the last four weeks, Run, the first single from Gnarls Barkley's second album The Odd Couple has been aired more times on Radio One than any other song, although it reached no higher than 31 in the singles chart. The album...

DATAFILE ALBUMS - 12.04.08: BPI Awards.
April 12, 2008... Albums Pantera Reinventing The Wheel: The Best Of (gold); The Killers Sawdust (platinum); Various Now That's What I Call Music! 69 (2 x platinum) BPI Awards are made on combined unit sales of CDs, downloads and LPs. If an album is...

DATAFILE ALBUMS - 12.04.08: Snoop Dogg.
April 12, 2008... Showing he hasn't completely lost his bite, Snoop Dogg debuts at number 23 on 7,917 sales with Ego Trippin', whence comes the current hit Sensual Seduction. The new album fared much better in America, where it went to number three last week,...

DATAFILE ALBUMS - 12.04.08: Flo-Rida.
April 12, 2008... Low is still on a high for Flo-Rida on the singles chart where it holds at number two on 29,765 sales, ending seven straight weeks climbing the list. The 28-year-old rapper from (natch) Florida has had subsequent hits with Elevator and Roll in...

Merlin enters MySpace talks.
April 19, 2008... Organisation hopes to work magic for indie sector over rights for networking website's forthcoming music service Licensing Merlin is locked in talks with MySpace over the networking site's music service, in what could prove to be the...