Music Week articles from February 2009

Music Week archives from February 2009

Retail launches counter offensive.
February 7, 2009... Ray of light for high street with Windsong revival and strong music sales at Sainsbury's By Christopher Barrett Sainsbury's has taken on 17 of the former EUK team to further bolster its impressive music sales BRITAIN'S BELEAGUERED...

New MMF chairman to get Message across in reappraisal.
February 7, 2009... BRIAN MESSAGE WILL OVERSEE A DETAILED REVIEW of the Music Managers Forum over the next three months, which could lead to the organisation undergoing radical change. Everything from the group's name to who it represents will be part of the...

THE PLAYLIST: 07.02.09.
February 7, 2009... EMPIRE OF THE SUN Walking On A Dream Virgin One of the big commercial hits from Empire Of The Sun's acclaimed debut. Upbeat, ethereal pop with a melancholy undertow. (single, March 23) DAN BLACK Alone A&M A...

SIGN HERE: 07.02.09.
February 7, 2009... Broken Records have signed to indie label 4AD. The band are currently at Monnow Valley studios in Wales recording their debut album which will be released in May Sony/ATV published artist Jesse J has signed a worldwide deal with Jason...

Composer Rodgers chosen to lead British Academy.
February 7, 2009... Sarah Rodgers is appointed chairman of the British Academy as David Ferguson steps down By Robert Ashton The British Academy has a new chairman following David Ferguson's decision to step down because of ill heath. The Academy board...

Producers push self-preservation.
February 7, 2009... Record producers are attempting to safeguard their futures by drawing up new producer agreements and guidelines for labels and management companies. The move follows a recent summit in London, which saw more than 60 UK and US producer...

Digital Britain is still a work in progress.
February 7, 2009... Neither the music industry nor the ISP community are jumping for joy after scanning Stephen Carter's 80-page report on the UK's digital future, released last week. The Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting's Digital...

Teitur heads a trio for latest gig.
February 7, 2009... Teitur heads the line-up of talent at the second instalment of Music Week presents Unearthed today (Monday), joining a bill that already boasts Island Records signing Tommy Sparks and Good Groove artist Alex Roots. For Teitur, today's show...

OBITUARY: John Martyn 1948-2009.(Obituary)
February 7, 2009... CHRIS BLACKWELL RECALLSHIS FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE JOHN MARTYN WHO DIED LAST THURSDAY, AGED 60 "John Martyn was in every respect a law unto himself. He was really a jazz artist within his "folk" exterior and he crossed all boundaries of...

BBC man Shennan has a raft of issues in his new role as controller.
February 7, 2009... Editorial Paul Williams BBC BOSSES MUST HAVE FIGURED that leaving a few days' gap between Jonathan Ross's return to TV and radio and announcing the new controller of Radio Two/6 Music would allow a line to be neatly drawn under the recent...

Pinnacle storage bills add more heartache for labels.
February 7, 2009... INDEPENDENT RECORD LABELS CAUGHT UP IN THE FALLOUT from Pinnacle's collapse face fresh financial heartache after the landlord of an overflow warehouse used by the distributor billed them for shelf space. Pinnacle had an estimated 1m albums...

Rock and pre-school unite under Union Square deals.
February 7, 2009... INDEPENDENT CATALOGUE SPECIALIST UNION SQUARE MUSIC is linking up with iconic rock pub The Crobar in London's Soho for the first of what is expected to be a series of branded albums. The first such release, The Crobar Soho, London Vol. 1,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Andy Parfitt.
February 7, 2009... Newly-appointed BBC popular music controller Andy Parfitt is among the first speaker names unveiled for a newly-announced conference the Radio Academy is holding in association with Music Week. The one-day conference and networking day Radio &...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Alison Wenham.
February 7, 2009... Alison Wenham has been appointed chairman of the Worldwide Independent Network. Wenham, who is also chairman and CEO of AIM, had previously held the title of president at the organisation. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

NEWS IN BRIEF: 2 Entertain.
February 7, 2009... 2 Entertain is not in administration, the company insists, despite parent company Woolworths Group calling in administrator Deloitte. A spokesman for BBC Worldwide, which owns 60% of 2Entertain, says it remains in talks with the administrator...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Michael Connarty.
February 7, 2009... Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group co-chair and copyright term campaigner Michael Connarty is hosting a meeting in the House of Commons today (Monday) to give an update on the progress of legislation in Brussels. Copyright: CMP...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Take That.
February 7, 2009... Take That's The Circus has claimed a double IFPI Platinum Award. The Universal album is one of 15 albums to be recognised by the IFPI in the past month for sales of at least 1m across Europe. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

NEWS IN BRIEF: Legendary Labels.
February 7, 2009... Iconic record companies such as Motown, Island and Stiff are to feature in an eight-part documentary series on GMG Radio. Legendary Labels will be broadcast on Sundays between 1-2pm from February 22. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

NEWS IN BRIEF: Cim Chambers.(Obituary)
February 7, 2009... A memorial service was held last week for music industry veteran Kim Chambers (nee Marshall) who died earlier this month. For almost two decades Chambers worked as executive assistant to David Simone at Arista, Phonogram and MCA Records. ...

Sony Ericsson strategy takes shape.
February 7, 2009... Company announces unique download plans as Nokia reports fall in profits By Ben Cardew SONY ERICSSON IS LOOKING FOR PARTNER OPERATORS in the UK for its PlayNow Plus unlimited download service, which is set to launch in the UK later...

Mission pays dividends as indie syncs big on prime-time show.
February 7, 2009... AN INDEPENDENT MUSIC PUBLISHER LANDED A SONG in hit US TV show 90210 after following up with contacts made during a UK sync mission to Los Angeles last November. Annie Reed, who runs Annie Reed Music, was among a delegation of 40 on the...

Shennan takes control.
February 7, 2009... New BBC Radio Two and 6 Music controller appointed By Ben Cardew and Paul Williams Leading music and radio industry figures have given a warm welcome to Bob Shennan's appointment as the new controller of Radio Two and 6 Music, despite...

MEDIA NEWS IN BRIEF: 2009 NME Awards.
February 7, 2009... Oasis and Kings Of Leon lead the nominations for the 2009 NME Awards. Oasis have seven nods, in categories including best British band, best live band and best album. Kings Of Leon are nominated for best international band, best live band, best...

MEDIA NEWS IN BRIEF: Xfm New Music Award.
February 7, 2009... Glasvegas, Foals and The Last Shadow Puppets will all go head to head for the second Xfm New Music Award. The judging panel, which includes Tom Clarke of last year's winners The Enemy, will meet today (Monday) to decide the eventual winner. ...

MEDIA NEWS IN BRIEF: Morris Bentata.
February 7, 2009... Morris Bentata is joining Sheridans, the leisure, media and entertainment specialist, as a partner specialising in sports and media. A leading sports and media expert, Morris has extensive experience in advising clients on the creation,...

MEDIA NEWS IN BRIEF: Muzu.TV.
February 7, 2009... Music TV website Muzu.TV has signed a global video licensing deal with indie label Cooking Vinyl. Through the deal, Muzu.TV users will get access to the label's entire video library, which includes content from The Prodigy, Blondie, Charlatans,...

AIRPLAY ANALYSIS: Stations stick with Lily Allen.
February 7, 2009... Alan Jones With an extra 199 plays last week helping it to increase its audience by a further 1.27m, The Fear by Lily Allen spends a second week at the top of the radio airplay chart. Although runner-up Lady GaGa secured bigger increases...

CAMPAIGN FOCUS: Airborne Toxic Event.
February 7, 2009... US indie label Majordomo looks set to give marketing and distribution company Essential Music its first big hit post Pinnacle's demise, with the release of the debut album by Airborne Toxic Event this month. The self-titled album is...

Digital dawns on the UK.
February 7, 2009... DAB take-up by a third of UK population and growing... By Christopher Barrett The interim Digital Britain report proposing that DAB radio coverage should be significantly extended could not have been better timed last week as it came...

Digital Audiences reach for the digital dial in larger numbers.
February 7, 2009... Incoming controller Bob Shennan will no doubt have been pleased about Radio Two's Rajars progress, but his other charge of 6 Music emerged as one of the quarter's biggest audience growers. The station gained 25.6% in reach over the year to...

London Capital regains London as Beeb talks up national reach.
February 7, 2009... While the BBC continued to dominate London with Radios Four and Two easily leading with respective shares of 17.5% and 10.3%, Radio One fared less well with a yearly drop in reach of 3.8% and a slight fall in share to end the year with 5.4%....

LIVE NEWS IN BRIEF: Cambridge Folk Festival.
February 7, 2009... Cambridge City Council has reiterated its support for the Cambridge Folk Festival despite the collapse of its official online ticketing partner. The local authority says that funding for the event remains unaffected by the news that Secure...

LIVE NEWS IN BRIEF: Oasis.
February 7, 2009... Oasis have been confirmed as a headline act for the four-day FIB Heineken Benicessim festival in Spain, which is promoted by the Vince Power Music Group. Oasis will join Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand and Paul Weller to mark the 15th...

LIVE NEWS IN BRIEF: The Soho Revue Bar.
February 7, 2009... The Soho Revue Bar has closed, joining a long list of live venues in central London to close their doors. The venue has reportedly been in administration since March 2008 but a buyer could not be found. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

LIVE NEWS IN BRIEF: Wembley Arena.
February 7, 2009... Wembley Arena is claiming a top 10 place among the world's best-selling venues for 2008 after an erroneous report printed incorrect figures for the past year. The Pollstar Worldwide Music Arena Industry Chart placed Wembley in 38th position...

LIVE NEWS IN BRIEF: Field Day.
February 7, 2009... London's Field Day festival has announced Mogwai as this year's headline act. The August 1 event will be the festival's third annual appearance in the city's Victoria Park. Other acts confirmed include Four Tet, Errors, Malcolm Middleton, Apes...

Iceland woes fail to fell Airwaves.
February 7, 2009... October-held festival to go ahead By Gordon Masson PROMOTERS OF THE ICELAND AIRWAVES FESTIVAL HAVE DENIED speculation that it has become the latest victim of the country's economic crisis by pledging it will go ahead later this year....

Festivals strike early.
February 7, 2009... UK FESTIVAL ORGANISERS ARE REVEALING THEIR summer line-ups months in advance in a move to entice early-bird purchases. The summer's first major festival, Isle of Wight, has already revealed a bill including The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx,...

DIGITAL NEWS IN BRIEF: David Lammy.
February 7, 2009... The UK's intellectual property minister David Lammy shocked the music industry last week by comparing illegal filesharing to taking a bar of soap from a hotel. "People can rent a room in a hotel and leave with a bar of soap - there's a big...

DIGITAL NEWS IN BRIEF: Napster.
February 7, 2009... Napster has re-launched its subscription service in the UK, with a new web-based model. Napster Version 4.6 will allow subscribers to access and play their music on any internet-connected computer, without downloading any software. Services...

DIGITAL NEWS IN BRIEF: Eircom.
February 7, 2009... One of Ireland's largest ISPs, Eircom, has agreed to implement a full "graduated response" programme in relation to filesharing. Persistent sharers will be given two warnings and risk having their connection terminated on the third. ...

DIGITAL NEWS IN BRIEF: Spotify.
February 7, 2009... On-demand streaming service Spotify has been forced to pull certain content over territorial licensing concerns. It states it is working with rights holders to have the affected content available again soon. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

DIGITAL NEWS IN BRIEF: Apple.
February 7, 2009... Apple has abandoned its all-or-nothing policy for migrating iTunes downloads to the DRM-free iTunes Plus format. Users previously could only pay to upgrade all purchases; now they can upgrade on a track-by- track basis. Meanwhile, Apple has...

DIGITAL NEWS IN BRIEF: AllFacebook.
February 7, 2009... A new chart compiled by AllFacebook reveals that Rihanna is Facebook's most popular artist, with 1.52m fans. Coldplay came second with 1.49m and Lil' Wayne third with 1.34m. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

The united sites of Bleep.
February 7, 2009... Warp-owned download site to relaunch in tie-in with own physical store By Eamonn Forde PIONEERING INDEPENDENT DOWNLOAD SERVICE BLEEP.COM has re-launched to mark its fifth anniversary, with a new focus on selling downloads concurrently...

Bleep's best selected by Steve Beckett.
February 7, 2009... Aphex Twin: Bucephalus Bouncing Ball (Warp) "I love this B-side of Come to Daddy. It rips speakers to shreds with the weight of the production and the `Bucephalus breakdown' at the end of the track is inspired." Boards Of Canada: Amo...

Allen mixtape offered.
February 7, 2009... PARLOPHONE IS GIVING AWAY A SEVEN-MINUTE LILY ALLEN "MINI-MIX" MP3 featuring segments of tracks from her second album It's Not Me, It's You, ahead of its February 9 release date. The promotion, in which the record company is partnering...

Digital hardware falters.
February 7, 2009... WHILE APPLE APPEARS AN INCREASINGLY UNSTOPPABLE hardware force, other device makers are finding it difficult to get a foothold in the market, according to new figures. In the last three months of 2008, Apple sold 22.7m iPods and 4.4m...

Universal nets Seasick Steve.
February 7, 2009... American bluesman wooed over a dinner or two By Stuart Clarke Following a lengthy courting, Universal has emerged victorious in the bid to secure a publishing agreement with Seasick Steve. The American bluesman, real name Steve...

POP WHILE YOU SHOP.
February 7, 2009... Economists are likely to look back on the summer of 2008 as the last great hurrah before the global economy slid into a whopping great recession, but the soundtrack to last year's summer retail jaunts was anything but doom and gloom, with a...

Priests' composer Herbert signs on.
February 7, 2009... Chrysalis Music has signed writer and composer Sally Herbert to a global publishing deal, incorporating current and future work. Herbert has been the subject of much interest from the A&R community recently thanks in part to her dominant role...

Album focus The Saturdays/Chasing Lights.
February 7, 2009... Writer Ina chases the bright lights Ina Wroldsen has emerged as one of the hottest new names on the songwriting circuit over the past year and, through a busy work schedule, the P&P Songs-published writer has amassed a healthy repertoire...

UNEARTHED: Frank talking from Island.
February 7, 2009... Island Records will move the campaign for Frankmusik up a gear this month ahead of the release of his first commercial single Better Off As Two on March 30. Currently on tour with Keane on their UK arena shows, Frankmusik has spent the...

FEATURE: JUST THE TICKET.
February 7, 2009... The findings produced by live entertainment analyst Tixdaq's first-ever comprehensive report of the country's live music ticketing sector is set to change the traditional pricing model for concert tickets. So just what is so relevant about such...

FEATURE: NICOLI'S LAND OF MILK AND HONEY.
February 7, 2009... Eighteen months on from his EMI exit, Eric Nicoli is still very much involved in music, having become the biggest shareholder in London band Honey Ryder and jumping on board the R&R Music group By Robert Ashton Eric Nicoli has been a...

FEATURE: GOING UP IN THE WORLD.
February 7, 2009... Coldplay's latest album topped the list of UK successes around the globe in 2008 with 5.7m international sales and number ones in more than 35 countries. All of the Top 10 albums sold more than 1m units abroad and record labels are hopeful of...

KEY RELEASES: 07.02.09.
February 7, 2009... Out this week Singles * Black Tide Shockwave (Polydor) Previous single: Shout (did not chart) * Coldplay Life In Technicolor II (Parlophone) Previous single: Lost! (chart peak: 54) * Enya My! My! Time Flies! (Warner...

KEY RELEASES - 07.02.09: The panel.
February 7, 2009... Each week we bring together a selection of underground tips from specialist media tastemakers Neil Sexton (Gaydar Radio) Michal Woods feat. Inaya Day: Natural High (Diffused) Getting straight down to business, this hits the decks...

KEY RELEASES - 07.02.09: Single of the week.
February 7, 2009... Daniel Merriweather Change (Allido) Melbourne-born Merriweather has received strong airplay support for Change, his first UK solo single and, with its breezy R&B vocals, it is easy to see why. Enjoying its third week on Radio One and Radio...

KEY RELEASES - 07.02.09: Album of the week.
February 7, 2009... The View Which Bitch? (1965) Which Bitch? will determine whether The View can translate their debut's big success into a real and lasting chart career. 2007's platinum-awarded Hats Off To The Buskers arrived amid a flurry of hype and...

KEY RELEASES - 07.02.09: Variety the name of the game at retail.
February 7, 2009... FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE CHRISTMAS, there is a lack of agreement about the top future flyers: HMV buyers continue to click most frequently on Alexandra Burke's debut album (despite the fact it is not released for eight months); Play users...

KEY RELEASES - 07.02.09: CATALOGUE REVIEWS.
February 7, 2009... VARIOUS Glitter And Gold: Words And Music By Barry Mann And Cynthia Weil (Ace CDCHD 1212) Arguably one of the best songwriting teams of the rock era, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil are the latest focus for Ace's producer/writer series....

CHARTS CLUBS: The Russians are coming - and on both fronts.
February 7, 2009... Russia has become increasingly westernised in the past decade, and has already supplied number one hits for the Upfront club chart - via PPK, and their 2001 smash Resurrection - and the Commercial Pop Chart, thanks to three of tATu's singles...

CHARTS ANALYSIS: The Boss returns to number one.
February 7, 2009... Alan Jones IT'S All change at the top of the charts this week, with Lily Allen claiming her second number one single, and Bruce Springsteen topping the artist albums chart for the eighth time. Springsteen's latest album, Working On A...

INTERNATIONAL CHARTS COVERAGE: Antony makes his mark.
February 7, 2009... ALAN JONES Born in Sussex and raised in California, Antony Hegarty prefers to think of himself as British rather than American, and his new Antony & The Johnsons album Crying Light made waves on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond to...

Copyright comes to the crunch.
February 14, 2009... Term extension decision rests on a knife edge as EU meeting in Brussels convenes By Robert Ashton The UK industry is on the cusp of one of its most important victories in decades, with a crunch meeting later this week set to decide...

Cold spell hits gigs and retail but industry bounces back.
February 14, 2009... The music industry soldiered on through the snow and sleet last week, despite the UK's heaviest snowfall in almost two decades leading to cancelled gigs, missed deliveries and fewer shoppers. In London last Monday, Music Week's own...

THE PLAYLIST: 14.02.09.
February 14, 2009... WHITE LIES Farewell To The Fairground Fiction Set to keep White Lies' seat warm at commercial radio in the coming months, this is another epic pop masterpiece with a dark, brooding heart. (single, March 23) WHITE BELT YELLOW...

SIGN HERE: 14.02.09.
February 14, 2009... Bucks Music Group has made two new signings in the shape of KateGoes and Misty's Big Adventure. Distiller Records has signed White Belt Yellow Tag. The group's new single secured Zane Lowe's hottest record in the world last week. ...

Judgment day for the industry's finest.
February 14, 2009... Judging begins as shortlist drawn up for special industry executive award Judging for the Music Week Awards begins this week when our expert panellists such as Channel Four head of music Neil McCallum and former Virgin Records UK president...

Indie labels offer exclusive material for Store Day.
February 14, 2009... Organisers of the second annual Record Store Day in the UK have secured exclusive releases from leading indie labels for all participants to sell. The event, pioneered in the US by Atlanta's Criminal Records owner Eric Levin and Music...

Session shortcomings still to be addressed in term extension.
February 14, 2009... Copyright term may now be entering endgame, but there is still some work to be done with the 20% session fund that is intended to accompany term extension. Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy had suggested in his Directive last...

Fleet Foxes scoop a coup for Co-Op.
February 14, 2009... Co-Operative Music was yesterday (Sunday) on track to enjoy its biggest success since parent company V2's acquisition by Universal in 2007, with Fleet Foxes poised to enter the top five of the albums chart some eight months after the UK release...

The Ghostly appearance on top floor is further sign of artist power.
February 14, 2009... Editorial Paul Williams SO WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF AMANDA GHOST'S appointment as Epic Records president in the US? To say the co-writer of You're Beautiful and Beautiful Liar was an unlikely candidate for the job would be the...

Atlantic adopts Blunt approach in breaking Jason Mraz.
February 14, 2009... Slow-burning campaign the key to enduring success, claim the team behind Back To Bedlam's global achievements By Stuart Clarke THE TEAM THAT LED JAMES BLUNT to global superstardom is hoping to repeat this slow-burn success with Jason...

UK Music survey to dig deeper.
February 14, 2009... THE MUSIC INDUSTRY NEEDS TO brace itself for more cold hard facts about illegal filesharers, with UK Music commissioning the largest survey to date about young people's music buying habits. The UK Music Survey, in tandem with the University...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Amanda Ghost.
February 14, 2009... Singer-songwriter Amanda Ghost has been appointed president of Epic Records in the US. Ghost will join the company on February 16 and will be responsible for overseeing the overall management and creative direction of Epic. She will be based in...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Woolworths.
February 14, 2009... The Woolworths name is to live on after the Barclay brothers, who also own internet retailer Shop Direct, bought the brand. The former high- street store, which went into administration in November, will re- launch online in the summer,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: The Official Charts Company.
February 14, 2009... The Official Charts Company has created the Official Specialist Classical Chart. The chart has been designed to highlight repertoire that is 100% classical and has been released within the last two years. This distinguishes it from the OCC's...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Tony Moss.
February 14, 2009... BMG Rights Management has named former Ministry Of Sound publishing general manager Tony Moss as managing director of its UK and Ireland arm. Moss will report directly to BMG Rights Management CEO Hartwig Masuch. Copyright: CMP Information...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Ace Records.
February 14, 2009... Former Pinnacle client Ace Records has signed a distribution deal with Plastic Head Music, following Pinnacle's collapse into administration. Meanwhile, Park Records, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, has signed a new deal with...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Essential Music & Marketing.
February 14, 2009... Essential Music & Marketing has formed a new strategic relationship with Los Angeles-based label services provider Rocket Science. The first release under the deal, which will offer full label services to artists, managers and record labels...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Warner Music Group and Destiny Media.
February 14, 2009... Warner Music Group and Destiny Media have announced a global agreement to distribute promotional audio and video content from WMG's roster of artists using Destiny Media's Play MPE digital distribution service. Copyright: CMP Information...

NEWS IN BRIEF: National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills.
February 14, 2009... The National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills is recruiting from the creative and cultural industries to widen its board membership. The organisation, chaired by Live Nation UK president Paul Latham, is a multi-million-pound...