Music Week articles from March 2007

Music Week archives from March 2007

Aim hit by Warner fallout.
March 3, 2007... Impala's Warner deal sparks revolt, as MoS and Gut quit Aim in protest By Paul Williams Indies organisation Aim is facing a potential crisis after two of its leading members resigned over Impala's decision to back a Warner takeover of...

How do you make it in America?
March 3, 2007... The US campaigns for Corinne Bailey Rae, Imogen Heap and Franz Ferdinand are among those which will come under the microsope at Music Week's Making It In America conference, taking place at the Rich Mix Cultural Foundation in London tomorrow...

The merger match-up - is this the final rally?
March 3, 2007... Warner edges ahead in merger battle with a little help from Impala By Robert Ashton Impala is looking to redress the balance of power in the music industry, after giving the seven-year struggle between EMI and Warner Music to gain...

Impala the ace in the pack, as EMI and Warner mull merger options.
March 3, 2007... As Edgar Bronfman and Eric Nicoli put on their best poker faces to play another round of deal or no deal, it turns out Impala holds the ace. And that ace could complete a winning hand. The cards that could pave the way for a merger between...

Impala: indie champs to kingmakers.
March 3, 2007... The journey from obscure European indie trade organisation to potential kingmaker in one of the biggest music deals in history has taken Impala just seven years. It can be traced from the formation of the association in April 2000, just a...

SNAP SHOT: DEVENDRA BANHART.
March 3, 2007... XL artist Devendra Banhart is currently holed up in an LA mansion recording the follow-up to 2005's Cripple Crow, but a track placement from a previous album in the latest European-wide Orange television campaign is serving to re-engage...

New C4 shows target music TV audience.
March 3, 2007... Channel 4 launches bid to fill music programming gap by Ben Cardew Channel 4 is attempting to position itself as television's home of new music with the launch in March of its first New Music Month. The initiative will see a raft...

Hunt is on for new MCPS-PRS chief.
March 3, 2007... The MCPS-PRS Alliance is looking to re-establish its top management structure by stepping up its bid to recruit a new chief executive officer. The organisation is actively recruiting an executive to replace former CEO Adam Singer, who quit...

Fopp to outline store plans.
March 3, 2007... Fopp will this week meet with a number of major record companies to outline its plans, following the dramatic acquisition of 67 former Music Zone stores. The retailer has re-opened all 67 stores, which closed in January after administrator...

Independents shouldn't fear THE closure, says EUK.
March 3, 2007... EUK has promised independent retailers that the closure of THE will not affect the service they receive. The company announced last week that it is to axe the THE operation, only months after buying the rival distributor for #20m. The...

Fine focus boosts compilation sales.
March 3, 2007... Record labels buoyed by resurgence in compilations market as sales leap by 11.5% by Ben Cardew The compilations market could be on the verge of a revival after several years of decline, as labels learn to focus on key brands and...

IN BRIEF: Napster scales down UK office.
March 3, 2007... Napster is scaling down its UK operation as part of a reorganisation of its European activities. The company is centralising all European sales and marketing activities to offices in Frankfurt, meaning the London operation will exist primarily...

IN BRIEF: John Reid responsible for activities in Europe.
March 3, 2007... Warner Music International has made vice chairman John Reid the man responsible for the group's activities in Europe. Reid has been handed the European duties in addition to his current role and takes the title of vice chairman, WMI and...

IN BRIEF: Illegal downloading.
March 3, 2007... The Recording Industry Association of America has re-doubled its efforts to crack down on illegal downloading at university campuses in the US. It sent out 15,000 complaints this academic year to 25 universities, a three-fold increase on total...

IN BRIEF: Brighton Hippodrome bought.
March 3, 2007... Academy Music Group has bought the Brighton Hippodrome, taking its tally of venues around the country to 12. It is also to increase the capacity of Birmingham's Carling Academy by 300 to 3,000. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Indiestore.com launched.
March 3, 2007... 7Digital service Indiestore.com, which allows unsigned artists to sell music direct to fans online, officially launched last week. The site will allow independent artists to grow their fanbase, develop their own online community with blogs and...

IN BRIEF: Cleaning company being sued.
March 3, 2007... EMI and Apple Corps are suing a cleaning company for throwing away a number of irreplaceable images of The Beatles. Crystal Services is being sued for a reported #700,000. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: ERA chairman to be unveiled.
March 3, 2007... A decision over the chairmanship of the Entertainment Retailers Association is expected to be made when the group's board next meets on March 13. Deputy chairman Paul Quirk assumed the role of chairman in January, following Steve Knott's...

IN BRIEF: Music Copyright Solutions changes to board.
March 3, 2007... Independent music publisher Music Copyright Solutions has made several changes to its board of directors, with John Sanderson stepping down as chairman. Peter Koenig, a non-executive director of the company, becomes chairman and current...

IN BRIEF: Epic Records appointment.
March 3, 2007... Epic Records has appointed former V2 Records president Andy Gershon as its executive vice president. Gershon, will be in charge of expanding and diversifying Epic's roster. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Live Nation appointment.
March 3, 2007... Live Nation has appointed Tony Robinson as SVP of international marketing partnerships. Robinson joins from MTV Networks International, where he is currently Viacom brand solutions vice president. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Ray Evans dies.
March 3, 2007... Oscar-winning songwriter and lyricist Ray Evans has died aged 92. Best known for his 60-year musical partnership with Jay Livingston, in which the pair wrote 26 songs, producing themes for film, TV and Broadway musicals. Copyright: CMP...

IN BRIEF: Ian Rogers promotion.
March 3, 2007... Yahoo Music in the US has reportedly promoted Ian Rogers to general manager. The move follows the departure earlier this month of David Goldberg and Robert Roback, former vice president and general manager of Yahoo Music respectively. ...

IN BRIEF: Aerosmith to play Hyde Park.
March 3, 2007... Aerosmith are to play their first European tour in eight years this summer. The band will play the Hyde Park Calling festival, which takes place over June 23 and 24. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Music Store's fastesting-selling video.
March 3, 2007... The video for Justin Timberlake's What Goes Around...Comes Around has become the fastest-selling video on iTunes' Music Store, with more than 50,000 downloads in four days. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: T In The Park festival.
March 3, 2007... Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Razorlight and Snow Patrol are to headline the 2007 T In The Park festival, which will, for the first time, open on the Friday evening on July 6, making it a three-day event. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Best international arena.
March 3, 2007... Wembley Arena was named best international arena and London's Royal Albert Hall won the best international theatre award at the 18th International Pollstar Concert Industry Awards in Los Angeles last week. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Universal buys Octone Records.
March 3, 2007... Universal Music Group's Interscope Geffen A&M Records has acquired New York-based Octone Records, home to acts including Maroon 5 and Flyleaf. As a result, the label will be rebranded A&M/Octone. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Carlsberg official beer.
March 3, 2007... Glastonbury organisers have selected Carlsberg to be the event's official beer until 2011. Festival organisers are also reported to have applied for a licence to run the event for the next four years. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Sony/ATV Music Publishing deal.
March 3, 2007... Sony/ATV Music Publishing has signed a worldwide administration deal with STB Music, the publishing division of esteemed reggae label VP Records, home to artists including Sean Paul, T.OK and Wayne Wonder. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

THE PLAYLIST: 03.03.07.
March 3, 2007... MARK RONSON feat. amy winehouse Valerie (Columbia) Winehouse has been performing this Zutons cover live. A highlight to Ronson's new album. (from album, April 16) YOUNG LOVE Discoteque (Stolen Transmission) A...

Top talent rewarded as shortlists are unveiled.
March 3, 2007... Music insiders gather at London's 24-club, as the industry gears up for the Music Week Awards on March 15 The behind-the-scenes campaigns which helped lift Lily Allen, Girls Aloud, Snow Patrol, Corinne Bailey Rae and Scissor Sisters to...

RADIO: Lowdown on satellite radio.
March 3, 2007... XM 1992: American Mobile Satellite Corp spins off an American Mobile Radio Corp to focus purely on radio May 1997: American Mobile Radio Corp becomes XM Satellite Radio. October 1997: Wins one of two satellite digital radio service...

MAKING IT IN AMERICA: The growing orbit of influence.
March 3, 2007... The potential merger between US radio's two satellite giants could revolutionise the sector in the States, and offer UK acts new inroads across the whole of America in one fell swoop by Jim Larkin Radio in the US has always been a...

Soundtracks: time to make a song and dance.
March 3, 2007... Global smashes such as High School Musical suggest film and television soundtracks remain a going concern in the digital age, especially during the awards season, says Ash Dosanjh When Dame Helen Mirren picked up the best actress gong for...

MW explores the creative process behind making a hit soundtrack.(Movie review)
March 3, 2007... A blood-thirsty pastiche of the perennially successful US buddy cop genre, Hot Fuzz finds the creative team behind Shaun Of The Dead and Spaced mixing gun-fuelled drama with distinctly British humour and directing it at the heart of middle...

All change on the merger front.
March 3, 2007... Impala and Warner's amazing trade-off has many benefits, but also throws up many questions This business never fails to surprise, does it? Of all the allies that Warner might have chosen in its renewed bid to acquire EMI, who would...

Visconti: From Marc to Morrissey.
March 3, 2007... As a young man Tony Visconti swapped New York for London to make records. Forty years on he has finally got round to recording his account of a remarkable career Quickfire Bookshops are flooded with "premature" autobiographies, but...

Letter: R1 defends Big Weekend claims.(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2007... From Jason Carter I write to address the points made by Peter Elliot ("Kaisers to kick off Radio One's biggest live year yet", MW, 17.02.07) in regards to Radio One's live music activity. Radio One's Big Weekend exists to deliver on our...

Letter: BPI got it wrong with embargo.(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2007... From Adam Sherwin It is complete nonsense to suggest that keeping the Brits winners secret "heightened the sense of anticipation among the media" [, as Brits PR Bernard Doherty claims] (Brits dominates column inches, MW 24.02.07). The...

FAST CHART: 03.03.07.
March 3, 2007... SINGLES NUMBER ONE: KAISER CHIEFS RUBY (B-Unique/Polydor) Monster by The Automatic remains the B-Unique label's biggest seller, but its highest charting hit - an honour previously held by The Ordinary Boys' Boys Will Be Boys - passes...

The Kaisers knock Mika off top spot.
March 3, 2007... After a fortnight at number one simultaneously on both charts, Mika loses his grip on the singles chart summit and the album apex this week. On the singles chart, his conquerors are the Kaiser Chiefs, whose Ruby takes advantage of Grace...

THE SCHEDULE - 03.03.07: Albums.
March 3, 2007... This week Infernal From Paris To Berlin (Island); Herman Dune Giant (Source); Malcolm Middleton A Brighter Beat (Full Time Hobby); Kaiser Chiefs Yours Truly, Angry Mob (Polydor); Patrick Wolf The Magic Position (Polydor); Richard Swift...

THE SCHEDULE - 03.03.07: Singles.
March 3, 2007... This week The Killers Read My Mind (Vertigo); All Saints Chick Fit (Parlophone); CSS Off The Hook (Warner Bros); McFly Transylvania (Polydor); Gwen Stefani The Great Escape (Interscope); Take That Shine (Polydor) March 5 Lily...

THE SCHEDULE - 03.03.07: NEW ADDITION.
March 3, 2007... Hut/EMI is to release a David Gray hits album, The Best Of The Early Years, on March 26, featuring material spanning his first three albums. A second greatest hits set featuring material from his breakthrough set White Ladder onwards will...

Sterling Silver Soundsystem.
March 3, 2007... DFA and EMI to engage UK fanbase in advance of eagerly-awaited second album LCD SOUNDSYSTEM NORTH AMERICAN SCUM (DFA/EMI) In a bid to motivate activity online and in the independent retail sector, EMI is to offer LCD Soundsystem fans...

The Insider: Galaxy network.
March 3, 2007... In a bid to grow its dominant share of the influential 15- to 34-year- old demographic, the Galaxy radio network is to bolster its digital output with a new weekly show highlighting dance label Defected's catalogue. Born out of the success...

Upfront - 03.03.07: Radio playlists.
March 3, 2007... Capital Amy Winehouse You Know I'm No Good; Avril Lavigne Girlfriend; Calvin Harris Acceptable In The 80s; Camille Jones Vs Fedde Le Grand The Creeps; Corinne Bailey Rae I'd Like To; Fergie Glamorous; Fratellis Baby Fratelli; Ghosts Stay...

The great cover-up with Audi's exclusively digital ad campaign.
March 3, 2007... A slew of contemporary artists including X-Press 2, Amp Fiddler, The Motorettes and Apartment will sit at the core of a new branded content campaign to promote the new Audi TT car. The new initiative, entitled TT Remastered, brings together...

Upfront - 03.03.07: In-store next week.
March 3, 2007... ASDA Instore - Air, Arcade Fire, Patrizio, Cascada, Bryan Ferry, Idlewild, Willy Mason, Mr Hudson & The Library, Notorious BIG, Dony Osmond, Andrea Ross, Jack Savoretti BORDERS Instore - Kaiser Chiefs, ELO, Findlay Brown, Folk And...

UPFRONT - 03.03.07: BPI AWARDS.
March 3, 2007... ALBUMS Gossip: Standing In The Way Of Control (silver); JoJo: High Road (silver); Bloc Party: A Weekend In The City (gold); The View: Hats Off To The Buskers (gold); Just Jack: Overtones (gold); Fall Out Boy: Infinity On High (gold);...

UPFRONT - 03.03.07: TASTEMAKERS TIPS.(Sound recording review)
March 3, 2007... Robyn Robyn (Konichiwa) Peter Robinson, Popjustice "Robyn, the architect and performer of this distinctive and eclectic mix of modern pop, is up there with Madonna. Highlights on this incredibly strong set - re-nosed for UK...

Upfront - 03.03.07: My Top 10 - Joe Reeves.
March 3, 2007... JOE REEVES Artist, Shitdisco 1. Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom Relevee (DFA) 2. Sebastian Ross Ross Ross (Ed Banger) 3. MIT Goodbook (Haute Areal) 4. Matthew WOWOW Big Girls Don't Cry remix (Demo) 5. Foals Baloon (Demo) 6. Haunted...

Music Recommenders: Jazz Record Mart, Chicago.
March 3, 2007... Chad Henderson from Jazz Record Mart is one of over 30 tastemakers contributing monthly to www.musicrecommenders.com John McNeil: East Coast Cool (Omnitone) On East Coast Cool track Deadline, trumpeter John McNeil and baritone...

Upfront Reviews - 12.03.07: Also out this week.
March 3, 2007... Singles Eagles Of Death Metal: Cherry Cola (Columbia); Air: Once Upon A Time (Virgin); Kings Of Leon: On Call (Columbia) Albums 8 Ball & MJ - Ridin High (Atlantic); Corinne Bailey Rae - Live In London & New York (Good...

Upfront Reviews - 12.03.07: SINGLE of the week.
March 3, 2007... Sugababes Vs Girls Aloud Walk This Way Fascination/Island 1724331 There can be no more conceptually-amazing record released all year than this. It features the planet's two greatest girl bands going head-to- head and covering...

Upfront Reviews - 12.03.07: ALBUM of the week.
March 3, 2007... Arcade Fire Neon Bible Sonovox 1723674 Quebec's finest return with a sophomore set brimming with ideas and energy. From the thunderous church organ intro of Intervention to the upbeat banjo strumalong of single Keep The Car...

Upfront Reviews - 12.03.07: Singles.
March 3, 2007... Brett Anderson Love Is Dead (Drowned In Sound DIS0022CD1) Following success with Suede and The Lovers, Anderson finally delivers solo material that befits his major talent. Driven by a dynamic string quartet arrangement, Anderson has...

Upfront Reviews - 12.03.07: Albums.
March 3, 2007... The Bees Octopus (Virgin CDV3024) The Bees' third album is a long way off their eclectic, Mercury- nominated, debut album Sunshine Hit Me. Octopus has a stronger theme, being heavily influenced by Sixties British guitar pop and shiny...

TV AIRPLAY CHART - 03.03.07: ON THE BOX THIS WEEK.
March 3, 2007... ITV This Morning: Bryan Ferry (Mon); Loose Women: Sheila Ferguson (Weds), Donny Osmond (Fri) GMTV Donny Osmond (Weds) Ben Mills (Thurs) John Legend (Fri) Channel Four Freshly Squeezed (Mon-Fri) Charlotte...

TV Airplay Chart - 03.03.07: Girls Aloud Vs Sugababes.
March 3, 2007... Sugababes and Girls Aloud are among TV programmers favourite acts, so putting the two together for the Comic Relief single Walk This Way was always going to generate a lot of support. The video - which gently apes the Run-DMC promo clip for the...

TV Airplay Chart - 03.03.07: Scissor Sisters.
March 3, 2007... Using the same mixture of black backgrounds and concealed stagehands to achieve amusing and seemingly physically impossible effects as they employed for I Don't Feel Like Dancin' at the Brit awards, The Scissor Sisters' promo clip for She's My...

Radio Airplay - 03.03.07: Mika.
March 3, 2007... Knocked off the top of the singles chart by the Kaiser Chiefs, Mika gets a small measure of revenge by re-asserting his airplay superiority over the group. His Grace Kelly hit reeled off four weeks at number one before dipping to number two...

Radio Airplay - 03.03.07: James Morrison.
March 3, 2007... Morrison returns to the Top 10 with Undiscovered, which rockets 71-10 this week. Some 16 plays on Radio Two and 12 on Radio One helped, but the song logged a further 508 plays from 50 supporters with the top tally pf 20 plays from Metro. ...

Radio Airplay - 03.03.07: Camille Jones Vs Fedde Le Grand.
March 3, 2007... Fedde Le Grand topped the sales chart with his dance anthem Put Your Hands Up (For Detroit), but it just failed to dent the Top 10 of the airplay chart, peaking at number 11 last October. For his follow-up, he is paired with Camille Jones for...

Radio Airplay - 03.03.07: Robbie Williams.
March 3, 2007... The introductory single and title track from Robbie Williams' Rudebox album gave the Stoke singer one of the least successful airplay chart performances of his career, peaking at 18. Follow-up Lovelight fared better, reaching number five - but...

RADIO AIRPLAY - 03.03.07: ON THE RADIO THIS WEEK.
March 3, 2007... RADIO ONE Annie Mac: NME Awards (Thurs); Edith Bowman Record Of The Week - Mark Ronson feat. Daniel Merriweather: Stop Me Scott Mills Record Of The Week - Rumble Stips: The Alarm Clock Zane Lowe Record Of The Week - Haduken! -...

New releases - 03.03.07: REVIEWS catalogue.
March 3, 2007... Original Soundtrack Romeo & Juliet (Capitol 3863232) The soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's first significant picture - a retelling of Shakespeare's classic tale, set in modern day Verona - is as unconventional and noteworthy as the film...

Singles - 03.03.07: Kaiser Chiefs.
March 3, 2007... After serving for a fortnight as runner-up to Mika's Grace Kelly, the Kaiser Chiefs' Ruby steps up to number one. Sales of Ruby last week increased by 48.1% to 38,000, while Grace Kelly, after five weeks at number one, slipped back to...

Singles - 03.03.07: Kelis.
March 3, 2007... Kelis vaults into the top five for the fifth time in her career, with Lil Star, which jumps 15-3 this week on sales of 18,000. Produced by Gnarls Barkley vocalist Cee-Lo, who also sings on it, it is the second single from her current album...

Singles - 03.03.07: Sophie Ellis Bextor.
March 3, 2007... More than three years after Sophie Ellis Bextor's last release, her comeback single Catch You accelerates into the Top 10 this week, following its physical release. The track, which had a setback last week, has moved 28-18-24-8 and is...

Singles - 03.03.07: Take That.
March 3, 2007... While Patience dips 10-15, following its Brits-inspired revival, Take That's new single Shine rises 11-10 on sales up 15% at 11,000. It has become Take That's 15th Top 10 hit, on downloads alone, and is set to rise higher following its physical...

Albums - 03.03.07: The Fray.
March 3, 2007... After reaching number 72 a fortnight ago on sales of imports and downloads alone, How To Save A Life - the introductory album by Colorado's melodic rock band The Fray - moved to full release status last week, and explodes 105-4 on sales of...

Albums - 03.03.07: Nelly Furtado.
March 3, 2007... While fourth single All Good Things inches forward 16-14 to reach a new peak, Nelly Furtado's Loose album is in more of a hurry, and rebounds 18-9 to force a resumption of its Top 10 career after a gap of 22 weeks. The album sold 17,000 copies...

Albums - 03.03.07: Johnny Cash.
March 3, 2007... Johnny Cash's highest charting album, peaking at number two in 1969, At San Quentin leaps back into the chart this week at number 20 on sales of 10,500 copies of the new and much expanded Legacy edition, issued to mark what would have been his...

Albums - 03.03.07: Lucinda Williams.
March 3, 2007... 54-year-old singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams comfortably straddles the rock/folk/country divide, and has been making records for nearly 30 years. She first dented the Top 200 with her 1998 album Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. It reached number...

Decision day for indies.
March 10, 2007... Crucial week for indies, as Aim board meets for judgement day By Robert Ashton & Martin Talbot Aim's efforts to see off a damaging revolt will arrive at judgement day tomorrow (Tuesday), when its board will decide whether to back...

Friday Night Project duo to host MW Awards.
March 10, 2007... The Friday Night Project's Justin Lee Collins and Alan Carr are set to take the Grosvenor House Hotel by storm next week, as presenters for the Music Week Awards 2007. The pair are currently among the hottest duos on television through the...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Virgin to revamp online service.
March 10, 2007... Virgin Retail is to radically revamp its online offering, virgin- megastores.co.uk. Improvements to the new site, which will be live by late summer 2007, will include better search and navigation engines and a new design. Copyright: CMP...

NEWS IN BRIEF: DRM-free downloads.
March 10, 2007... Universal France has started trialling the sale of DRM-free downloads in MP3 format, with the launch of a live album by Emilie Simon. Simon's Live a l'Olympia album is available to purchase in unprotected MP3 format through the artist's...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Big Weekend to be held in Preston.
March 10, 2007... Radio One's Big Weekend will be held in Preston this year. The event, which takes place on May 19 and 20, will be broadcast on Radio One and BBC3 and will also be available to view via the Radio One website. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd....

NEWS IN BRIEF: Eurovision Song Contest.
March 10, 2007... Former The Darkness singer Justin Hawkins is among the acts competing to represent the UK at this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Hawkins will compete with Beverlei Brown as Hawkins And Brown, going up against former Atomic Kitten singer Liz...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Online broadcasting platform Joost.
March 10, 2007... XL Recordings and parent company the Beggars Banquet Group are to participate in the launch of online broadcasting platform Joost. Both companies will have their own web TV channels on Joost when the site launches - currently scheduled for the...

NEWS IN BRIEF: GCap Media bids for licence funds.
March 10, 2007... GCap Media has told the Government that the commercial radio sector should be entitled to a share of the licence fee in order to fund programme development. In its submission to a Department of Culture, Media and Sport consultation on public...