Music Week articles from October 2004

Music Week archives from October 2004

Stringer takes UK helm: former Sony Music boss in driving seat as he takes control of new Sony BMG operation.(Mergers)
October 2, 2004... Rob Stringer has voiced his determination that merger issues will not distract from the business of delivering a bumper Christmas for his new Sony BMG Music Entertainment operation. Stringer was confirmed last Wednesday as UK chairman and...

Kylie's back with greatest hits.
October 2, 2004... The first Kylie Minogue retrospective spanning her entire career became a reality at the end of last week as Parlophone signed off the deal for potentially one of autumn's biggest new releases. Ultimate Kylie, due out on November 15, will...

Warner considers spring flotation.(Bottom line)
October 2, 2004... Warner Music is contemplating an initial public offering next spring, which would see the company valued at 2.8bn, [pounds sterling] according to reports last week. The major was sold to a consortium led by ex-Vivendi Universal vice chair Edgar...

Wembley Arena Pavillion.(Bottom line)
October 2, 2004... Brent Council last Thursday gave planning consent for the building of the new Wembley Arena Pavilion. The temporary venue, which will replace Wembley Arena while it undergoes a 25m [pounds sterling] refurbishment programme, will be located in...

Downloads.(Bottom line)
October 2, 2004... A survey of online buying habits has overwhelmingly found purchasing individual downloads is the most popular way of acquiring music on the internet. The study by Entertainment Media Research revealed that 69% of men and 60% of women that...

Rajar.(Bottom line)
October 2, 2004... Rajar is changing the way it releases its quarterly listener research in response to fears that the data could be exploited for insider trading purposes. Under previous rules, the organisation has released data to subscribers at 6am on the same...

The Music.(Bottom line)
October 2, 2004... The Music's huge popularity in Japan has been underlined by the band's second album success in entering at number two in the market's international chart for non-Japanese repertoire The Virgin issued Welcome To the North also secured a number...

Folk music festivals.(Bottom line)
October 2, 2004... Folk music festivals are a key sector in the UK's creative economy and generate more than 82m [pounds sterling] for the UK economy each year, according to new research by the Arts Council England and the Association of Festival Organisers...

Ferdinand up for Shortlist Prize.(Exposure)
October 2, 2004... Franz Ferdinand are one of three UK acts among the remaining 10 finalists for the 2004 Shortlist Prize. The Domino signed act are in the running with their self-titled debut album for the prize, which is widely regarded as the US equivalent of...

The Marquee Club.(Exposure)
October 2, 2004... The Marquee Club is inaugurating its new home hi London's Leicester Square with a 10-day festival featuring some of the best up and coming acts in the UK. The Breakthrough Festival will run from today (Monday) until October 8 and will include...

John Adams.(Exposure)
October 2, 2004... US composer John Adams is to become the first overseas figure to win a rarely-bestowed Fellowship from the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters (Bacs). Adams, who is artist in association of the BBC Symphony Orchestra will receive the...

Digital Music Awards.(Exposure)
October 2, 2004... Websites for Brian McFadden, Jamelia and The Streets figure among the nominations for BT Broadband's Digital Music Awards, in association with the BPI. Formerly known as the Interactive Music Awards, the event takes place on October 19 at...

Sainsbury.(Exposure)
October 2, 2004... Sainsbury's has become the first supermarket to launch its own-brand DAB digital radio under its new RED (For Living Life) brand. The RED DB7 digital radio is the first product in the group's new, generic home brand for selected consumer...

Organisers of the Urban music seminar declared the event a success last week.
October 2, 2004... Organisers of the Urban Music Seminar declared the event a success last week, in spite of skirmishes in the audience at London's Royal Festival Hall which resulted in the cancellation of the grand finale. Founder Kwame Kwaten says next year's...

Serle takes over at Kerrang! 105.2.(People)
October 2, 2004... Adrian Serle has been appointed managing director of Emap's West Midlands-based radio station Kerrang! 105.2, Serle makes the move from sister stations Hallam FM and Magic AM in Sheffield, where he is sales director.

McKenzie Group.(People)
October 2, 2004... McKenzie Group has appointed Jonathan Wing as group booker for Academy Events, based at the Carling Academy in London's Islington. Wing joins from the Barfly in Cardiff where he had been the in-house promoter since 2001. Meanwhile, Carting...

Presidential election.(People)
October 2, 2004... Acts including Robyn Hitchcock, Ed Harcourt and Imogen Heap are taking part in a concert at London's relaunched Marquee Club on October 1 to encourage US citizens in the UK to vote in this year's American Presidential election. The Time For A...

Deacon Award.(People)
October 2, 2004... Sony signing Clare Teal has become the first recipient of the Deacon Award, a prize presented annually to the best act at the Marlborough Jazz Festival. The prize recognises Teal's performance at the festival in July.

Chrysalis offers music 2mobile.(Sign here)
October 2, 2004... Chrysalis Mobile is launching a series of branded products, which will be available in Carphone Warehouse and various independent shops in the London area. Music2mobile comprises four elements: playlist, which contains a catalogue of tracks...

Haymarket's newly-launched digital music magazine Rip and Burn, which hits shelves this week.(Sign here)
October 2, 2004... Haymarket's newly-launched digital music magazine Rip and Burn, which hits shelves this week, has struck a deal with Napster giving each reader a 30-day free trial. The first issue sees cover star Eminem featured alongside Fatboy Slim, Peter...

Capital/GWR merger details unfold: in anticipation of this week's expected announcement, MW plots the potential outcomes.(Radio)
October 2, 2004... All eyes will be on Capital Radio this Wednesday, when a regular trading update is expected to be accompanied by more details of its proposed merger with GWR. The two groups ended months of speculation around a week ago when they confirmed...

Reception with Tory leader kicks off politicised autumn.(News)
October 2, 2004... An audience at London's The Ivy restaurant with Conservative leader Michael Howard has kicked off the music industry's autumn campaign for political influence. The reception last Wednesday, organised by Big Brovaz and Jamelia manager...

The music week playlist.(News)
October 2, 2004... U2 Vertigo (Island) This is a great comeback with a riff so familiar you will keep on asking yourself what it reminds you of (single, Oct) ALTER EGO Rocker (Skint) This fast-growing electro anthem could be quirkiest...

The BPI awards.(News)
October 2, 2004... ALBUMS Various--Bust Dance Classics (silver) The Music--Welcome To The North (silver) Ray Charles--Genius Loves Company (silver) Marilyn Manson--Lest We Forget: The Best Of (silver) Brandy--Afrodisiac (silver) ...

Download rates raise music pricing debate: iTunes discriminates against UK consumers, says CA.(Downloads)
October 2, 2004... "Consumers' Association rails at over-priced music"--it is a headline which has echoes of 1994, but in 2004, it reflects a new spin on an old complaint. And once again it brings the structures of music pricing under the microscope. Apple,...

MTV and Apple chiefs to address Popkomm.(News)
October 2, 2004... MTV Europe chief Brent Hansen and Apple's iTunes boss Eddy Cue are among the headline attractions at Popkomm 2004, which launches this Wednesday in Berlin. Cue, Apple's vice president applications and internet services, provides the...

Tears for fears.(Snapshot)
October 2, 2004... As their first new studio album for 15 years debuted inside the top 50 of the Billboard 200 last week, Tears For Fears have confirmed a new Europe-wide deal with Gut Records, The new album Everybody Loves A Happy Ending is the first...

Virgin to offer 1.2m tracks with its US download launch.(News)
October 2, 2004... Virgin Retail is stepping up its digital activity in the US today (Monday) by ailing out the biggest catalogue yet available of online music. Virgin Digital will offer an unrivalled 1.2m tracks, dwarfing the libraries of rivals such as...

Polydor banks on Bedingfield.(News)
October 2, 2004... If asked to name the most successful new UK artist of the past three years, most people would understandably opt for either The Darkness, Busted, Blue or Keane. But for domestic sales of a debut album, Daniel Bedingfield stands above them...

Standing room only at packed In The City: strong line-up of speakers draws record attendances.(Conferences)
October 2, 2004... In The City capitalised on one of its strongest speaker line-ups in years by attracting a record 2,500 delegates to last week's 2004 event. It was standing room only at some of the conference's high-profile keynotes at Manchester's...

New bands make their mark.(ITC News)
October 2, 2004... The strong delegate showing at In The City 2004 ensured healthy interest in a number of the acts playing at the unsigned showcases. Tom Vek and Fear Of Music were among the new acts enjoying widespread acclaim from the A&R fraternity, with...

Knowles seeks Robbie link-up.(ITC digest)
October 2, 2004... Beyonce's manager Mathew Knowles told Robbie Williams that the surefire way of breaking the US was to get together with his daughter--and management charge--Beyonce. "Beyonce and him should do a duet," said the Destiny's Child manager....

UK downloads continue surge.(ITC digest)
October 2, 2004... A total of 300,000 downloads are being sold in the UK every week, the Official Charts Company revealed on a panel focusing on the Download Chart. The figure, which compares with totals of 6,500 some 12 months ago and 15,000 per week at the...

Apple's influence under attack.(ITC digest)
October 2, 2004... Robbie Williams manager Tim Clark urged the industry to stand up against outside powers such as Apple which he believes are dictating the future shape of the business. In an Interactive City In Conversation session with Ted Cohen, EMI...

Poster company fights back.(ITC digest)
October 2, 2004... Diabolical Liberties used the profile of In The City to launch a petition and postcard campaign to lobby for authorised poster sites in London. The company, which saw three of its employees hit with temporary ASBOs in court a week ago as...

Blur man joins downloads row.(ITC digest)
October 2, 2004... Blur drummer Dave Rowntree argued that research on illegal downloading did not yet justify the UK music industry suing individual pirates. Referring to research used by industry bodies including the BPI, Rowntree suggested the UK press...

Managers stress changing role.(ITC digest)
October 2, 2004... A string of former major-label bosses told ITC's Now I'm A Manager panel that they had crossed to the other side of the industry because managers were now fulfilling the artist development role formerly handled by record companies. "One of...

Bowen: aiming for a global powerhouse: regional boss unveils plans in new international role.(News)
October 2, 2004... After a successful year running BMG in the UK and Ireland, Tim Bowen is preparing to return to the international arena and one of the biggest and most exciting challenges of his two-decade career. "We now have a company which is a major...

Giant's worldwide structure takes shape.(News)
October 2, 2004... In parallel with the appointments of Rob Stringer and Tim Bowen, the international structure of Sony BMG also began to take shape last week. The company's COO Michael Smellie announced a regional team--as yet, without titles--which sees...

Company lines up big names for hot Q4 schedule.(News)
October 2, 2004... BMG and Sony's combined artist roster is set to deliver an autumn schedule as strong as any from the major groups in recent years. Some of the combined corporate group's biggest titles include greatest hits sets from Britney Spears (Jive),...

Stringer: a chance to create a new model: UK head aims to build fresh template for company.(News)
October 2, 2004... Rob Stringer is looking to break the mould of British record companies as the first chairman of the industry's biggest new player. "This is an opportunity to build a completely different type of company," he says. "We have an opportunity...

Raw deal in the material world: manufacturers are in an awkward position as record companies demand lower prices while the rising price of oil is increasing the cost of raw materials.(Manufacturing)
October 2, 2004... The manufacturing sector of the UK music industry has seen its share of pressures in recent months. But as if facing demands from record companies to lower the price of manufactured compact discs and DVDs was not giving replicators enough...

Wear your art on your sleeves: tight budgets are forcing artists and designers to be even more imaginative and resourceful, as last week's I See Music event highlighted.(Creative design & packaging)
October 2, 2004... Although much attention is currently focused on digital downloads, there is no doubting the enduring importance of the record sleeve for enhancing--or even transforming--the simple act of listening to music. Strong artwork can improve not only...

Future Loop Foundation: scratch & sniff sleeves.(I See Music highlights: special packaging)
October 2, 2004... Art direction: Big Active. Design, Mat Maitland, Big Active. Illustration: Jasper Goodall, Big Active. Commissioning manager: Richard Newton, Titanium Music. Gerard Saint (Big Active art director): "Two cover images conjuring up memories of...

Bell X1: snakes & snakes boardgame promo.(I See Music highlights: special packaging)
October 2, 2004... Art direction, design and retouching: Scott Burnett, Aad. Product manager: Alex Waldron, Island. Scott Burnett: "The album artwork for Bell X1's Music In Mouth was built around stylised snapshots of the band's living environment. The names...

Hope of the States: distressed fabrics.(I See Music highlights: special packaging)
October 2, 2004... Art direction and design: Matt Simmonds, Type2error. Product manager: Kathryn Craddock, Sony Music. Packager: CMCS. Matt Simmonds: "The idea was conceived while working with the band in Ireland, where they were recording their album. We...

Max de Wardener; adolescent inspiration.(I See Music highlights: special packaging)
October 2, 2004... Art direction/ design: Hal Udell. Illustration/ design: Max de Wardener.

Spotlight on I See Music.(Creative design & packaging)
October 2, 2004... Product manager: John Wraight, Accidental Records Packager: Herzog Idex, Illertissen, Germany. Max de Wardener: "The Illustration came from sketchbooks I had kept since I was 15. It was never designed to be a CD cover. As I stopped...

Iyrie!: letterpress approach.(Creative design & packaging)
October 2, 2004... Art direction/ design: Adam Whitaker. Adam Whitaker: "I'm a designer and a DJ. I use these CDs to give the music I make under the Iryie! label to people. There are a lot of different types of music on the CDs--house, pop, reggae. You could...

Red Snapper: clothes label.(Creative design & packaging)
October 2, 2004... Art direction and design: Kjell Ekhorn and Jon Forss, Non-Format. Product manager: Gavin O'Shea, Lo Recordings. Packager: Rowheath. Jon Forss: "We wanted something that wouldn't be printed packaging. We took a plain generic white case and...

Mum: old book format.(Creative design & packaging)
October 2, 2004... Art direction and design: Dave Howell and Dave Thomas. Product managers: mum, Dave Howell and Dave Thomas, Fat Cat Records Manufacturer: Modo. Dave Thomas: "The concept was that the artwork should be a continuation of the old found-book...

Kasabian: agit-pop promos.(Creative design & packaging)
October 2, 2004... Art direction, design and illustration: Simon Corkin. Product manager: Jo Power, Richard Connell, Roma Martyniuk, BMG. Packagers: Deluxe, ASL and CMCS. Joanna Dunk (BMG product manager): "The imagery needed to create a feeling of an...

Syntax: rubber cover.(Creative design & packaging)
October 2, 2004... Art direction: Big Active. Design: Gerard Saint and Mat Maitland, Big Active. Commissioning label: Illustrious/ Sony Music. Product manager: Ted Cockle, Illustrious/Sony. Gerard Saint (Big Active art director): "The brief was to create a...

New vision takes music TV beyond the small screen: new media outlets and revenue opportunities are influencing audio visual content but, at the end of the day, it is the quality of programme making which wins through.(TV)
October 2, 2004... With a healthy music scene and an ever-increasing number of channels, these are certainly interesting, not to mention challenging, times for anyone involved in music television. Add to that the changing technological landscape and...

Good karma blesses Vanessa: Instant Karma boss cues comeback via Sony classical.(Classical)
October 2, 2004... Classical crossover has come a long way since the release of Vanessa-Mae's 1995 breakthrough album, The Violin Player, especially in terms of target marketing and consumer development. Critics still cite the Singapore-born fiddle player's...

Marcello Alvarez.
October 2, 2004... Marcello Alvarez Famous tenor arias. Alvarez; Dresden Staatskapelle/Viotti. (Sony Classical SK 92937). As owner of one of the most cultured tenor voices of his generation, Alvarez has already established his world-class credentials in the...

Costello.
October 2, 2004... Costello Il Sogno. LSO/Tilson Thomas. (Deutsche Grammophon 471 5772). The release of Elvis Costello's first orchestral composition on the hallowed DGG yellow label pushed Norman Lebrecht into an apoplectic outburst in his Evening Standard...

John Foulds.
October 2, 2004... John Foulds Three Mantras; Lyra Celtica; Apotheosis; Mirage. Bickley, Hope; CBSO/Oramo. (Warner Classics 2564 61525-2). Warner Classics can add a proud feather to its corporate cap with the release of this album of concert works by a...

Gaudete.
October 2, 2004... Gaudete Anon. (arr. Karl Jenkins), Tavener, Faure Pachelbel, Reich. Tenebrae/ Short. (Signum Classics SIGCD050). This album marks a fresh departure for specialist indie Signum Classics, with its 25-minute programme pitched directly in the...

Town House celebrates silver anniversary: the Sanctuary Group's Town House Studios--which has hosted stars from Elton John to Oasis over the years--celebrates a quarter of a century in the business this year by remembering old friends and anticipating new projects.
October 2, 2004... There ore unlikely to be too many in the music industry who could still claim to be friends with some of their original clients 25 years down the line but, in a corner of west London, there is a studio for whom this is still the case. ...

Glass.
October 2, 2004... Concerto for Cello and Orchestra; Concerto Fantasy. Lloyd Webber; Glennie, Haas; RLPO/Schwarz. (Orange Mountain Music 0014). Orange Mountain Music, set up in 2001 to serve as a platform for the works of Philip Glass, has recently been added to...

Haydn.
October 2, 2004... The Seasons. Soloists; RIAS-Kammerchor; Freiburger Barockorchester/Jacobs. (Harmonia Mundi MHC 801829.30 (2 SACD)). With Rene Jacobs' recording of The Marriage of Figaro being the bookies' favourite to scoop Gramophone's record of the year...

Mahler.
October 2, 2004... Songs, including Five Ruckert-Lieder, Kindertotenlieder. S. Genz, Vignoles. (Hyperion CDA67392). Hyperion's catalogue, already rich in song, unlocks another jewel in the shape of this Mahler recital from Stephan Genz and Roger Vignoles. Genz's...

Mozart.
October 2, 2004... Early Symphonies. Concentus Musicus Wien/Harnoncourt. (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi DHM82876 58702 2 (3CD)). Veteran conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, no stranger to the mature works of Mozart, admits that he was astonished by the sheer inventive...

Verdi.
October 2, 2004... Requiem. Milanov, Thorborg, Rosvaenge, Moscona. BBC SO and Chorus/Toscanini. (Testament SBT2 1362 (2CD)). Testament's set restores Toscanini's high-octane live 1938 performance of Verdi's Requiem to the catalogue with the benefit of sound...

Boys Of King's College Heavenly Voices.
October 2, 2004... ALBUM OF THE MONTH Works by Franek, Mendelssohn, Faure, Ireland, etc. Boys of King's College, Cambridge. (EMI Classics 557 8962) In the 70-odd years that EMI has been recording King's College Choir, it has never devoted one album...

Preisner.
October 2, 2004... It's All About Love. (First Name Soundtracks Name 402). Dogme director Thomas Vinterberg invited Zbigniew Preisner to add a soundtrack score to his latest movie after it had been finished, ditching his original choice of music in favour of a...

A chance to take a new approach: the new chiefs of Sony BMG have the opportunity to create a company for the future.(Editorial)
October 2, 2004... It is rare in a merger scenario for the two key players to come out on top. But that certainly seems to be the case regarding the respective chairmen of Sony and BMG, Rob Stringer and Tim Bowen. Rarely does an opportunity arise to create a...

Talking to the Tories can further industry interests.(Viewpoint)
October 2, 2004... We had more than 100 people at the reception I hosted for Michael Howard at The Ivy restaurant last week. Of the invitations we sent out, we had an 80% acceptance rate from theatre and television, yet only a 20% acceptance rate from the music...

Has In City gone up in the world as a music event?(The big question)
October 2, 2004... With strong speaker and live line-ups in place, this year's In the City attracted a record 2,500 delegates. So is the event getting back to its best? Jonathan Green, Green Consulting "It was a tremendous event this year, From my...

Beeb bashers are just bad sports.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 2, 2004... From Charles Collins, CNL Music It's a supreme irony, in this 40th anniversary year of pirate radio, to read the commercial radio companies' criticism of BBC music radio, especially Radio Two, for being too popular. In 1964, the Beeb was...

Let's mark the 1,000th single.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 2, 2004... From Dean Jackson, BBC Radio Nottingham Some time in late November "the single" is to be given the biggest PR opportunity in its history; the tO00th number one. What a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of the beleaguered format....

The irony behind iTunes' free offer.(Letter to the Editor)
October 2, 2004... From Fraser Kennedy, FKM After listening for years about all the problems with free "illegal" downloads, the great saviour iTunes arrived to save the day. But what do we all read on Tuesday morning from iTunes? Only a "tree download single...

Crib Sheet.(Forum)
October 2, 2004... Big Time TV, BT Rich Media and London's Evening Standard are teaming up to create a new service, the London Music Network, offering the newspaper's readers access to a free music and other digital media. The service launched through a CD...

Up all weekend in Manchester.(Dooley's Diary)
October 2, 2004... Remember where you heard it: The gossip and rumour of last week was inevitably dominated by events in Manchester, where In The City gathered for the 12th time. The buzz was certainly good, as many delegates returned to the event for the first...

It took a cast of thousands (well, seven strapping men and an eighth crawling on all fours) to get it up the stairs, but one of V2's brace of Elbow statues finally took pride of place at the entrance to the I See Music Exhibition at London's ICA.(Diary)
October 2, 2004... It took a cast of thousands (well, seven strapping men and an eighth crawling on all fours) to get it up the stairs, but one of V2's brace of Elbow statues finally took pride of place at the entrance to the I See Music Exhibition at London's...

Key releases.(Datafile)
October 2, 2004... ALBUMS THIS WEEK Mark Knopfler Shangri-La (Mercury); Marilyn Manson Lest We Forget (Interscope); Joss Stone Mind Body & Soul (Relentless/Virgin); Interpol Antics (Matador); Lisa Stansfield The Moment (ZTT) OCTOBER 4 Fatboy Slim...

Mixed news for singles and albums.(The Market)
October 2, 2004... Contrasting fortunes for singles and albums last week found sales of the former declining 17% to a seven-week low, while albums improved by 9% to reach an eight-week high. The decline in singles was due largely to the absence of hot new...

Market indicators.(Datafile)
October 2, 2004... SINGLES Sales versus last week: -16.9% Year to date versus last year: -11.8% Market shares Ministry Of Sound 13.5% BMG 12.3% Polydor 9.6% Island 9.1% Atlantic Records UK...

Fast chart.(Datafile)
October 2, 2004... SINGLES NUMBER ONE ERIC PRYDZ CALL ON ME Data It is a very unusual Top 10, with three climbers, four static, two dippers and just one new entry, which allows Eric Prdyz to top the stack again, with the 46,370 sales of Call On Me...

Second coming for Chungking: with a new title and an extra track Chungking's album is to get the big push more than a year after its first release.(The Plot)
October 2, 2004... CHUNGKING THE HUNGRY YEARS (GUT) Last summer Brighton three-piece Chungking's album We Travel Fast (released on Tummy Touch) became a favourite in the Music Week office and as a result was a regular on the MW Playlist. More than twelve...

Rooster.(Snapshot)
October 2, 2004... The debut single from west London band Rooster is shaping up to give the group a strong start to their career, with its profile exploding across a wide range of key media. The track, titled Come Get Some, was on course to rocket into the...

Tipsters: a selection of UK tastemakers select their favourite upcoming releases.(Upfront)
October 2, 2004... Chris Salmon, music editor, Time Out DEATH IN VEGAS SATAN'S CIRCUS (DRONE) "Now on their own label, Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes have ditched their usual guest singers for this instrumental album of bleakly melodic electro in...

Radio playlist.(Upfront)
October 2, 2004... RADIO 1 A LIST Ashlee Simpson Pieces Of Me; Christina Milian feat. Joe Budden Whatever U Want; Deep Dish Flashdance; Dido Sand In My Shoes; Eamon Love Them; Embrace Gravity; Eric Prydz Call On Me; Estelle Free; Fatboy Slim Slash Dot...