Music Week articles from December 2008

Music Week archives from December 2008

Douglas breaks radio silence.
December 6, 2008... Former Radio Two controller Lesley Douglas on her resignation and her new music role Exclusive By Paul Williams Former Radio Two controller Lesley Douglas has broken the silence she publicly adopted throughout the Andrew Sachs...

EUK bemused by Woolworths board's timing.
December 6, 2008... Two of the year's biggest music releases go on sale today (Monday), as retailers continue to come to terms with the collapse of EUK and Woolworths Retail. The Woolworths board took the decision late last Wednesday to appoint administrator...

THE PLAYLIST: 06.12.08.
December 6, 2008... TOMMY SPARKS I'm A Rope Island Set to pick up where The Ting Tings left off, Tommy Sparks makes pop songs with bite. I'm A Rope is big tune with a synth-driven, psychedelic undertow. (single, January 5) THE PRODIGY ...

VAT vexation raises retail quandary.
December 6, 2008... VAT reduction creates more harm than good for UK's hard-pressed retailers By Robert Ashton The Government's 2.5% tax cut has only succeeded in handing music retailing another tough challenge, just as the sector enters its most...

Midem grows publishing event arm.
December 6, 2008... Midem will hold its first international publishing summit next year, as the event looks to reflect the changing realities of the music business. The event will take place on Tuesday, January 20, following MidemNet, with keynote speakers...

Woolies' woe gives industry wobbles in Christmas period.
December 6, 2008... Contingency plans in place as administrators called in News of Woolworths' move into administration last week, while hardly unexpected, sent shockwaves through an industry gearing up for the Christmas period. Woolworths itself had a...

Bright sparks and drummer form FAC group.
December 6, 2008... The nascent Featured Artists' Coalition has established a steering committee to take it to the next stage in its development as the industry's voice for artists. The new committee features Blur's Dave Rowntree, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien,...

The music industry owes Rob Partridge a huge debt of gratitude.
December 6, 2008... Editorial Paul Williams AS, LIKE COUNTLESS OTHERS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY LAST WEEK, I struggled to come to terms with the death of Rob Partridge, one of the many conversations I had with him about his illness suddenly returned to my mind....

OBITUARY: `Gentleman and great guy' Rob Partridge dies.(Obituary)
December 6, 2008... Tributes flood in after Island Records veteran, Coalition founder and UK music industry legend loses battle with cancer aged 59 By Robert Ashton THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS IN MOURNING following the death of Rob Partridge, one of the most...

NEWS IN BRIEF: The Beatles.
December 6, 2008... Paul McCartney has revealed the situation has stalled between Apple Corps and EMI in the long-delayed plans to place The Beatles' catalogue on iTunes. The Fab Four's digital debut has been expected now for more than a year, but McCartney...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Warner Music Group.
December 6, 2008... Warner Music Group has reported a steady set of figures for 2008, with increased revenue in digital and publishing not quite enough to offset losses in recorded music. Full-year revenue at the major declined 2% on a constant-currency basis to...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Copyright term.
December 6, 2008... Musicians have delivered a video message to Gordon Brown, calling on the Government to give them an increased copyright term. The video message was filmed at PPL's recent Annual Performer Meeting at Abbey Road Studios. Copyright: CMP...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Jason White.
December 6, 2008... 4AD A&R man Jason White is working alongside Associated London Management founder Martin Pike in a new joint management venture. The company, which continues under the Associated London Management name, already looks after acts such as...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Boris Johnson.
December 6, 2008... Boris Johnson has called for a drive to improve the musical education of young people, including a "musical amnesty" asking Londoners to give old instruments to learners. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

NEWS IN BRIEF: George Michael.
December 6, 2008... George Michael will release a free download on Christmas Day. The new song, entitled December Song (I Dreamed Of Christmas), is written by the singer with long-time collaborator David Austin. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

AIM trade mission to extend US city reach.
December 6, 2008... THE ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT MUSIC IS EXTENDING ITS TRADE MISSION to the US next year with a "three-for-one" trip to Toronto, New York and Austin, Texas throughout March. The indie group has been organising US missions since 2005 with UK...

ANALYSIS: No crunch on charity.
December 6, 2008... With the BBC's latest Children In Need appeal raising upwards of #20m, and the X Factor Finalists' remake of Mariah Carey's Hero dashing past the 600,000 sales mark to become the first platinum single of 2008, charity has so far survived the...

Golden wonder?
December 6, 2008... MW's 50th anniversay asks questions of executives Music Week is to mark its golden anniversary next year with a special award to honour the best UK music industry executive of the past 50 years. As part of the celebrations to recognise...

Transmusicales des Rennes opts for personal touch.
December 6, 2008... Three-day French hotbed of talent kicks off this week By Gordon Masson ONE OF THE KEY FESTIVALS for breaking new British acts gets underway this week with Les Transmusicales des Rennes celebrating its 30th anniversary. The...

QUICKFIRE: `Orbital are a rock act in dance clothing'.(Interview)
December 6, 2008... Paul Hartnoll talks to Music Week about Orbital's plans to reform for the Big Chill Twenty years after their debut single Chime broke the Top 20, UK dance legends Orbital are to reform and play the Big Chill festival in 2009. They are...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Bullet For My Valentine.
December 6, 2008... Bullet For My Valentine have been confirmed as headliners for the inaugural Hammerfest festival to be held at Pontins Holiday Camp, Prestatyn on April 24-25. Hard Rock Hell and Metal Hammer magazine have combined to organise the event, which...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Heavenly Planet.
December 6, 2008... Former Womad artistic director Thomas Boorman has formed a partnership with Festival Republic and Reading Borough Council to launch the Heavenly Planet festival. The event, which twins Reading with a second festival site in Palermo, Sicily,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: T In The Park.
December 6, 2008... The organisers of T In The Park have admitted they have no confirmations for next year's festival after erroneous reports in the mainstream press suggested that AC/DC had been booked as headliners for the event. A number of newspapers linked...

SellaBand acts take to US stage.
December 6, 2008... ONLINE MUSIC PLATFORM SELLABAND is to give 18 unsigned acts the opportunity to tour arenas in the US via a hook-up with ArenaWorks Entertainment. The website, which enables unsigned artists to raise money from their fans to fund recording,...

MU to investigate form 696's legality.
December 6, 2008... THE MUSICIANS' UNION IS SEEKING LEGAL ADVICE on whether the controversial Metropolitan Police event assessment form 696 can be challenged on data protection or human rights grounds. The forms came under intense scrutiny recently following...

A wealth of Christmas spirit to hit UK airwaves this year.
December 6, 2008... Strong line-up of yuletide programming scheduled RADIO ONE IS TO AIR ONE OF ITS STRONGEST Christmas schedules in years this December, as it looks to compete with the return to our screens of Top Of the Pops. The station's head of...

NEWS IN BRIEF: 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards.
December 6, 2008... The 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards will take place in Berlin on Thursday, November 5, the broadcaster has announced. This will be the fourth time that the awards have been held in Germany. The 2009 EMAs will be held in front of the Brandenburg...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Courtney Holt.
December 6, 2008... Former MTV executive Courtney Holt has been appointed president of MySpace Music. As of January 5, Holt, who was previously executive vice president of digital music for MTV Networks, will be responsible for overseeing the growth and...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Franz Ferdinand.
December 6, 2008... Franz Ferdinand are to open the 2009 Shockwaves NME Awards Shows as part of an eclectic series of gigs in the capital. The four-piece will headline the opening event at the Heaven nightclub on Villiers Street, London, on January 20. ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Clash magazine.
December 6, 2008... Clash magazine is holding its end-of-year revue this Wednesday (December 3) at London's Proud Gallery, with acts including Simian Mobile Disco, Buraka Som Sistem, and XX Teens. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

AIRPLAY ANALYSIS with Alan Jones.
December 6, 2008... Beyonce and Take That are playing a game of chart tit-for-tat this week, with the American diva knocked from the top of the singles chart by the Mancunians, but taking her revenge on the radio airplay chart, where her If I Were A Boy takes the...

Songlines unveils poll winners' birthday bash.
December 6, 2008... World magazine links up with Womad for live event WORLD MUSIC MAGAZINE SONGLINES is to host an awards event to mark its 10th anniversary. The Songlines Music Awards will be held in partnership with world music festival Womad and will...

O2 and C4 unite on-demand.
December 6, 2008... CHANNEL 4 IS OFFERING VIEWERS access to music programming on demand via its 4oD site, thanks to a tie-up with O2. The O2 Priority Room, which operates from www.channel4.com/4od, is the first dedicated music zone on the broadcaster's...

Boosey & Hawkes gives image a shake-up with indie deals.
December 6, 2008... Losing the old-fashioned tag: Boosey & Hawkes secured an Apple Macbook sync for Labrador Records act Broadcast 2000 NEW DEALS WITH ONE LITTLE INDIAN AND FATCAT RECORDS are the latest in a series of moves by music publisher Boosey & Hawkes...

DIRE STRAITS FOR MONEY MUSIC.
December 6, 2008... WITH MONEY CONTINUING TO dominate the world's headlines, a look back through the annals of pop history reveals a wealth of artists who have drawn inspiration from the green stuff. This week we look at the top 10 most-performed songs about...

Barlow and Barlow lead the way in Britannia High soundtrack.
December 6, 2008... THE MUSIC OF BRITANNIA HIGH MAY BE PURE POP, but in approaching the songwriting process head of A&R Colin Barlow looked to the spirit of Motown's songwriting camps for inspiration. Keen to inject a sense of competitive spirit into the...

Just call him Mr Diversity.(Interview)
December 6, 2008... Prolific and internationally-renowned songwriter Wayne Hector talks to Music Week about his career By Paul Williams IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FEEL SUDDENLY VERY OLD look away now: this coming spring it will, incredibly, be 10 years since...

MUSIC WEEK - UNEARTHED: 06.12.08.
December 6, 2008... NEW LABEL AND MANAGEMENT DEALS GIVES FRESH PERSPECTIVE TO HOWLING BELLS' RETURN HOWLING BELLS AFTER BELLA UNION SOLD MORE THAN 25,000 units of their self-titled debut album in the UK, Howling Bells are looking to new management and a...

MUSIC WEEK AWARDS 2009: ON TO A WINNER.
December 6, 2008... More winners from last year's Music Week Awards recall their campaigns... and that winning feeling As entries begin to flood in for the Music Week Awards 2009 following the opening of the submissions section at musicweekawards.com, we take...

OBITUARY: JASON BOAS NO SURRENDER.(Obituary)
December 6, 2008... Music industry accountant and charity fundraiser loses battle with cancer Jason Boas 1974-2008 Late in the evening of November 11, the music industry lost one of its much-loved characters, accountant Jason Boas, who at just 34 lost...

THE BRITS: DISPELLING THE MYTHS.
December 6, 2008... Brits chairman Ged Doherty has worked to actively improve the voting academy, dispelling the myth that the awards are decided by the four majors' chairmen. Doherty believes the fruits of the most representative academy yet will be evident at...

KEY RELEASES: 06.12.08.
December 6, 2008... For full reviews, updated daily, visit www.musicweek.com/reviews. For a full list of new releases updated every Monday, go to www.musicweek.com Out this week Singles * Dan Black Yours (A&M) debut single * Flobots Rise...

KEY RELEASES - 06.12.08: The panel.
December 6, 2008... Thomas H Green (Q) Video Nasties: Albatross (Dead Again) Albatross rides out of the speakers as if already mid-song, a punk storm of livid drumbeats and screeching. It's an amphetamine riot that lasts for an exhilarating minute before...

KEY RELEASES - 06.12.08: Single of the week.
December 6, 2008... Leona Lewis Run (Syco) Syco rushed this digital-only single out for an iTunes exclusive yesterday (Sunday) after high demand from fans following Lewis's performance on X Factor on November 15. The ballad, which had the TV show's judges in...

KEY RELEASES - 06.12.08: Album of the week.
December 6, 2008... Take That The Circus (Polydor) Having pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in history, Manchester's likeliest lads return with the follow-up to the eight- times platinum Beautiful World, which rocketed to the top of the charts this...

ANALYSIS: Human makeover makes a Killer dance tune.
December 6, 2008... It is fairly routine for tracks by rock acts to be given a dance makeover but not so common for them to top the Upfront chart - but that's what The Killers do this week, with their latest single Human scorching to number one with a huge 31.55%...

CHARTS PREDICTIVE - CAMPAIGN FOCUS: THE FRAY.
December 6, 2008... THE FRAY WILL RETURN to the UK venue where it all began for them as RCA prepares to push the button on their second album campaign. The Denver natives will perform an intimate fan show at the Borderline in London this month as they...

ANALYSIS: No signs of fallout from Folie - Deux.
December 6, 2008... A strong debutant last week, Fall Out Boy's Folie - Deux is now the top pre-release. It moves four to one on HMV, three to one on Play and six to two on Amazon. Due for release two weeks hence (December 15) it is the band's third album for...

CHARTS SALES - 06.12.08: Catalogue reviews.
December 6, 2008... JAMES BLUNT: All The Lost Souls - Deluxe Edition (Custard/Atlantic 7567896985) James Blunt's second album has sold upwards of 700,000 copies over the last year. It is refreshed here for the Christmas market by the addition of a quartet of...

CHARTS ANALYSIS: Killers shoot down Guns N' Roses return.
December 6, 2008... DEBUT RELEASES FROM RHYDIAN, THE PRIESTS AND ONLY MEN ALOUD and eagerly- awaited new albums from The Killers, Guns N' Roses and Kanye West helped the UK record industry to shake of some of its recent gloom to record a massive 39.4% increase in...

Industry unites to save indies.
December 13, 2008... Companies offer support for Pinnacle casualties, with some labels already secure By Ben Cardew The UK music industry is rallying around to help indie labels caught up in the collapse of Pinnacle. Distributors have already inked...

White knight emerges for Pinnacle's former clients.
December 13, 2008... A potential white knight for some of Pinnacle's former clients has emerged, with Cooking Vinyl founder Martin Goldschmidt advancing plans to launch his full-service distribution company Essential. Essential Music And Marketing was founded...

THE PLAYLIST: 13.12.08.
December 13, 2008... VAGABOND Sweat (Until The Morning) Geffen The Xenomania production team is onto a winner with Vagabond: this is top-shelf pop with international ambitions. (single, 2009 tbc) TOMMY SPARKS I'm A Rope Island I'm A...

SIGN HERE: 13.12.08.
December 13, 2008... Mercury has signed Alan Pownall. Managed by Ollie Slaney at ATC, he has been working with producer Eliot James. Blood Red Shoes have signed a worldwide publishing deal with Bucks Music. The Recoil have signed a publishing deal with...

Britain's got talent at the Grammys.
December 13, 2008... Historic contingent of UK acts tipped for success at US awards ceremony By Paul Williams A UK ARTIST IS GUARANTEED TO WIN the record of the year category at next February's Grammy Awards after British acts claimed every nominations...

Unearthed brings Hockey to Rough Trade.
December 13, 2008... HOCKEY WILL PERFORM AT THE INAUGURAL Music Week presents Unearthed showcase in London today (Monday, December 8), taking to the stage at Rough Trade East in Brick Lane for their final UK performance before heading back to the US. The...

Holy night for Mail On Sunday as it launches record label.
December 13, 2008... THE MAIL ON SUNDAY IS LOBBING ANOTHER GRENADE among the industry traditionalists by launching a record label for original music and mounting an audacious bid for the Christmas number one. The debut release on Mail On Sunday Sounds (MOSS) is...

Jingle Bell heralds Capital's live return.
December 13, 2008... 95.8 CAPITAL FM IS HOSTING its most significant live music event in more than four years this week as part of what Global Radio chief executive Ashley Tabor is vowing will be two big station events held every year. A total of 16 acts...

Pinnacle's fall has cast huge shadow over Q4's album successes.
December 13, 2008... Editorial Paul Williams SILVER LININGS CLEARLY DON'T LAST VERY LONG IN THIS most testing of fourth quarters. In the wake of EUK and Woolworths going into administration, Take That's new album provided some much-needed optimism for the...

ANALYSIS: 18 million reasons to love TV talent shows.
December 13, 2008... Reality telly from X Factor and its bedfellows have generated huge revenues for the music industry By Alan Jones WITH THE FINAL OF THE X FACTOR 2008 JUST DAYS AWAY, the music industry has good reason to be grateful to the ITV series,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Andy Burnham.
December 13, 2008... Culture Secretary Andy Burnham has again signalled that the Government will legislate should internet service providers not make progress on piracy. Speaking at last week's Squaring The Circle MusicTank, Burnham told industry executives that he...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Zavvi.
December 13, 2008... Zavvi has suspended sales from its website, www.zavvi.co.uk, in the light of EUK's collapse. EUK, which went into administration last week alongside Woolworths Retail, is the exclusive fulfilment partner for DVDs, CDs and games for zavvi.co.uk....

NEWS IN BRIEF: BT, Virgin Media, Talk Talk and Tiscali.
December 13, 2008... BT, Virgin Media, Talk Talk and Tiscali are among a group of internet service providers which have signed up to Ofcom's new voluntary code of practice governing broadband speeds. Ofcom had found a number of ISPs were selling their services by...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Terra Firma.
December 13, 2008... Two of the senior Terra Firma staff involved in the private equity firm's purchase of EMI are leaving the company. Chris Roling, named EMI chief operating officer and chief financial officer by Terra Firma CEO Guy Hands, and EMI chief operating...

NEWS IN BRIEF: 4AD.
December 13, 2008... 4AD has confirmed details of its forthcoming compilation in support of the Red Hot Organization. Dark Was The Night will be released on February 16. Aaron and Bryce Dessner of 4AD act The National produced the album, with Red Hot Organization...

NEWS IN BRIEF: New Note and Proper Music.
December 13, 2008... Independent distributors New Note and Proper Music have concluded a deal for Proper to take on the physical distribution of the New Note catalogue. The deal was signed last Tuesday and was originally planned to come into effect on March 1 2009,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Warner UK.
December 13, 2008... Warner UK has launched a website counting down the days until Christmas, offering free downloads, videos and competitions. www.25bandsofchristmas.com has been created by Warner Music UK and features artists from the Warner Bros, Atlantic and...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Woolworths.
December 13, 2008... Woolworths administrators have cut 450 jobs at the company's support operations in London and Rochdale. There have, however, been no redundancies at EUK, which went into administration last week alongside Woolworths Retail. The retailer last...

Amazon MP3 launch provokes price storm.
December 13, 2008... Mixed reaction as digital store offers cheap chart hits By Ben Cardew AMAZON IS CONFIDENTLY PREDICTING that the UK launch of its MP3 store will help to grow the British digital music market, but it has already stirred up a hornet's...

Xclusive staff arrested on suspicion of fraud.
December 13, 2008... Serious Fraud Office investigate online tickets scam By Gordon Masson FIVE PEOPLE BEHIND A SUSPECTED rogue ticketing operation have been arrested by police during raids connected with a probe into one of this summer's most high-profile...

Bands go back to nature.
December 13, 2008... IN AN AGE WHEN AGENTS AND PROMOTERS are constantly challenged by artists to come up with interesting new venues for tours, few would put money on a government department being at the cutting edge of live promotion. But, unusually one is -...

Campaign against Form 696 grows.
December 13, 2008... THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE METROPOLITAN POLICE'S controversial event- assessment Form 696 is growing, with an artist-backed petition and a number of pressure groups attracting thousands of members on Facebook. Reverend And The Makers'...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Monkey: Journey To The West.
December 13, 2008... Damon Albarn's "popera" Monkey: Journey To The West is extending its London run into the New Year after a huge demand for tickets. Promoter AEG Live has added a further 30 performances to take the run to January 4 in the purpose-built Monkey's...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Glade Festival.
December 13, 2008... Organisers of the Glade Festival are looking for a new site after Berkshire Council insisted on stringent noise restrictions for the event. The spin-off from the Glastonbury Festival, has been based in the woodland at Wasing Estate in Berkshire...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Live Nation.
December 13, 2008... Live Nation has signed a three-year deal with Blockbuster whereby the video rental chain will be the exclusive physical retail ticket outlet for the promoter's new ticketing company in the United States. Live Nation Ticketing is set to launch...

Bumper year for live promoters.
December 13, 2008... Leonard Cohen, Westlife, Neil Diamond and Kylie help rake in profits By Gordon Masson Music's A-list acts enjoyed a lucrative start to 2008 with veteran and established acts - from Leonard Cohen to Westlife - proving themselves as the...

EMI Music take more Take That.
December 13, 2008... EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING HAS GRABBED a further stake in Take That's hugely- successful new album by signing two backing band members who figure among The Circus's songwriting credits. The new Polydor-issued album was on course yesterday...

This Bud's for you.
December 13, 2008... Peer to develop rock legend's catalogue, 50 years on RADIO PRODUCTION COMPANY AND INDEPENDENT music publisher MRM has partnered with Peer Music to enhance the Buddy Holly back catalogue via an in-depth interview with the legend's widow,...

Wiley's diverse third album shows there is life after grime.
December 13, 2008... HOT CHIP, MARK RONSON AND ARTHUR BAKER are among the names making a contribution to the diverse cast list on Wiley's new studio album, See Clear Now, which is released by Asylum via Atlantic today (Monday). See Clear Now marks Wiley's third...

Funding cuts for BBC will hurt music business, says MU.
December 13, 2008... Musicians' Union submission to Ofcom review stresses the importance of Beeb for musicians THE MUSIC BUSINESS HELPED TO SHAPE the future of the BBC and public service broadcasting last week, with the Musicians' Union, the Performers'...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Global Radio.
December 13, 2008... Global Radio is investing in a new TV ad campaign to support the roll- out of the Heart brand to local radio stations. The new ad was created by Beattie McGuinness Bungay and is intended to announce Heart in the regions not previously exposed...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Clash Magazine.
December 13, 2008... Clash Magazine has won magazine of the year and consumer magazine of the year at the PPA Scotland Magazine Awards. Two of Clash's founding directors, John O'Rourke and Jon Paul Kitching, collected the awards. O'Rourke says, "Naturally we are...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Lesley Douglas.
December 13, 2008... The BBC has started advertising for a replacement for Lesley Douglas, who quit the Corporation at the end of October over the Russell Brand/Jonathan Ross affair. An advert searching for a new controller of BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music was placed in...

`For artists, we offer an extraordinary platform'.
December 13, 2008... Mail On Sunday editor talks about record label launch FEW TITLES RAISE AS MUCH IRE within the music industry as that of The Mail On Sunday, the newspaper that has become synonymous with CD covermounts and is now poised to launch its own...