| HEADLINES |
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- Universal denies reports that the Decca label will close. (see Business)
- Warner shares rise on better-than-expected results. (see Business)
- Norwegian government drops legal action against Apple iTunes. (see News)
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| Business |
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- Universal issues response to claims that Decca could be closing: “Decca remains active as a label in the UK, signing and recording artists, with its London office continuing as a creative centre.” (RotD)
- Warner Music Group shares spike on better-than-expected results for its first fiscal quarter. Net profit came in at $23m, while revenues fell 11% to $878m. Digital sales increased 20% to $171m, accounting for 31% of total sales. (RotD, Reuters, Business Week)
- The administrators of Zavvi have confirmed the closure of a further 17 stores, with the loss of 242 jobs. Administrator Ernst & Young says the retailer will keep trading at its remaining 31 outlets, while it hopes to sell all, or at least part, of the business. (BBC, Guardian p33 snip)
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| News and Features |
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- The Norwegian government has dropped legal action against Apple's iTunes store for limiting use of the iTunes files to iPods and the iPhone. (Register)
- EMI is teaming up with MySpace Music and Amazon.com in a Lily Allen promotion which will see her new album go on sale for $3.99 until February 16. (Business Week)
- Possible Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger draws boos from concert fans. (LATimes)
- US charts: Bruce Springsteen debuts at the top with 224,000 sales. Franz Ferdinand are new at nine with 31,000 sales.
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| Comment and Opinion |
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- Big labels or Google - who is the songwriters' worst enemy? Digital rights raise artists' hackles. (Register - Chris Castle)
- The Virgin Radio brand, 15 years in the making, was lost after the station was bought by a division of The Times of India Group for £53.2 million last year. Its new owners wanted to start again, but after 15 weeks, the Absolute brand, it seems, has confused many listeners. (Times p59 – Patrick Foster)
- Digital Britain needs more ambition, something which suggests that the country has a dynamic future, rather than one in which we are all sued for illegally downloading episodes of Mad Men for three hours into the night on shonky internet connections. (Times p59 – Dan Sabbagh)
- Universal Music Group parent company Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Levy interviewed. About UMG he says, “We are doing very well during what is a migration to a new business model," adding, “We know that it will be a business that is not focused on a single product, but a multiple source of revenues, not just the CD.” (LATimes)
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| New Media, Online Music and Mobile |
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- Warner Music slaps Songbeat, a desktop application for playing and discovering music on the net, with a lawsuit. (TechCrunch)
- U-MYX, the interactive music technology that lets fans remix and share songs, has emerged from an intensive 12-month development period as GoMix, a re-branded and revised version of the original product. (RotD)
- Jimmy Eat World has launched a new website for their American tour which implements Twitter to give fans a way to chat about each upcoming concert. (TechCrunch)
- Universal Music links to unauthorised Eminem YouTube clip from its own website. (TechCrunch)
- "MySpace wants to be the de facto source of entertainment content, and music is a big part of that strategy." Interview with MySpace's Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe. (Coolfer, TechCrunch)
- Google's new killer app? Why are music bloggers' posts disappearing and who is deleting them? (LAWeekly)
- Ten songs that rocked the digital music world. (ContentNext)
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| Radio, Television
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- The BBC Trust has published an independent report commissioned from the National Audit Office on the efficiency of radio production at the BBC. (Radio Today)
- Star salaries raise the cost of BBC Radio, compared to commercial rivals. (Telegraph p6, FT p2, Star p9, Mail p6, Sun p6)
TV
10:30 ITV1: This Morning: Alesha Dixon
19:30 BBC4: Transatlantic Sessions: Aly Bain and Jay Ungar
20:00 BBC4: Odetta Remembered
20:30 BBC4: Sounds of the Sixties: Protest Singers
21:00 BBC4: Folk America: Blowin¹ In The Wind
22:00 BBC4: Arena: Dylan at Newport
22:35 BBC1: Friday Night with Jonathan Ross: Tom Jones
23:20 BBC4: In Concert: Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
23:35 BBC2: The Culture Show Uncut
01:15 Channel 4: 4Music: Fight Like Apes
01:35 Channel 4: 4Music: Sugarush Beat Company
RADIO
00:00 R2: Janice Long: Matt Duke
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| And also... |
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- Job opportunities
- Defected seeks digital manager, junior product manager and licensing assistant.
- Record of the Day seeks editorial assistant.
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| Artist and Music Features |
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- From stadium-filling domination to haunted studios, bike crashes and near-breakups - a resurgent Prodigy tell Angus Batey what they had to do to restart the creative fire. (Guardian Music p3)
- Her record label criticised her figure. Radio stations refuse to play her song about date r__e. But does Amanda Palmer care? (Guardian2 p16-17 Emine Saner)
- REM's Murmur takes me to an imagined Deep South I might once have lived in. (Guardian Music p12 - Michael Hann)
- Graeme Thomson talks to today's singer-songwriters about their cruel and cynical hero, Jacques Brel. (Guardian Music p6)
- The Saturdays: built in a lab to crush Girls Aloud. (Guardian2 p2 - Marina Hyde)
- “I imagined what I'd say to God in the face of all the c**p” - Jacqui Swift speaks to The Fray on the follow up to their debut album. (Sun SFTW p52)
- Scottish rockers The View give an exclusive chat to Jacqui Swift about their partying lifestyle and their new album Which Bitch? (Sun SFTW p53)
- 50 years after Buddy Holly’s death, Simon Cosyns speaks to his widow. (Sun SFTW p50)
- Chris Ayres encounters the master of smooth listening Burt Bacharach oiling himself by his Beverley Hills swimming pool. (Times2 p11-12)
- Friendly Fires have not been having the easiest time on their latest tour, but they’re too well bred to complain about it to Pete Paphides. (Times2 p14)
- Folk from the city: London has spawned a new family of multi-instrumentalists and singer who support and play with each other. Just don’t call it a scene, says Tim Walker. Includes Emmy The Great, Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flynn, Mumford and Sons. (Independent Arts p17)
- As a biopic opens of Notorious B.I.G, Matilda Egere-Cooper tells the story of the larger than life star and his music, and how he changed the face of hip hop. (Independent Arts p18-19)
- Outspoken Lily Allen is back with a new album – interview with Gavin Martin. (Mirror Ticket p8-9)
- After three marriages and a 20-year battle with drugs, James Taylor is hitting the road again. (Mail p50-51 – Adrian Thrills)
- My cultural life – Patrick Wolf. (Independent Arts p17)
- Click to download: Chris Salmon on a gripping new way to catch your favourite star - plus a one-stop world music shop. (Guardian Music p9)
- Readers recommend: songs about luck (Guardian Music p4 - Maddy Costa)
- Obituary: Lux Interior, The Cramps. (Guardian p42, Times p76, Independent p46 – Pierre Perrone)
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| Showbiz and News |
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- Lily Allen explains how she accidentally sent a text to Simon Cowell that was meant for her grandmother saying, “Maybe my next conquest should be Simon Cowell,” as a joke in reference to her dating older men. (Sun p3, Star p34)
- Still of Lily Allen sitting with Alan Carr on the Sunday Night Project. (Times p13)
- Etta James is furious that Beyonce covered her signature tune, At Last, at Obama’s inauguration concert. (Mirror p20, Times p13)
- Abba tribute band Bjorn Again play for President Putin. (Times p41)
- Perez Hilton ventures to ‘the other side’ and records song, makes video. (Times2 p14)
- Playboy magazine has hired Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses to write a financial column. (NYPost)
- Coldplay will be issued a writ for allegedly plagiarising a Joe Satriani track during the Grammys. (Telegraph p20 snip)
- Michael Jackson at LA dentist. (Star p17)
- Pete Doherty thinks his mansion is haunted. (Star p19)
- Rihanna pictured going to the movies. (Star p26)
- Katy Perry says her mum dated Jimi Hendrix. (Star p34)
- Lux Interior, singer with the Cramps, dies. (Mirror p30)
Sun Bizarre - Killers singer Brandon Flowers and drummer Ronnie Vannucci aren’t getting on at all well – Flowers sometimes feels violent towards him. Pete Doherty to give a talk about his life at Trinity College in Dublin. The View pop by Sun offices to play acoustic rendition of their new album. Joe Satriani might issue Coldplay with papers, alleging plagiarism, as they arrive in LA for the Grammys. Duffy talks about how she overcomes her fears of making music videos. Blur to play T In The Park.
Mirror 3AM - Alexa Chung and Alex Turner move in together – apparently she is messy, while he is very neat. Noel Fielding’s girlfriend is writing a song for Courtney Love. Katy Perry pictured with a chimp. Elton John’s Las Vegas show to close after five years. Lily Allen says being famous means she can’t do everyday things such as shop for condoms.
Star Playlist - Adele thinks Brit School saved her from becoming a teenage mum. Names for NME awards gigs. N-Dubz' Tulisa wants Heathrow closed. Coldplay to be issued writ over plagiarism. Tony Mortimer plans solo tour. Jem wants to record with Eminem. Shakira buys her Colombian hometown a new school. Amorphous Androgynous remix Oasis. Lady Gaga pictured onstage.
Star Goss - P Diddy pictured watching a cheerleader. Pink giving her ex another chance.
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| Reviews |
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- Albums
- Lily Allen (Mail p50 – 4* Adrian Thrills, Express p54 – 3* Robert Spellman, Mirror Ticket p8 – 4* Gavin Martin, Independent Arts p22 – 3* Andy Gill, Guardian Music p9 - 4* Alexis Petridis)
- REM (Mail p50 – 5* Adrian Thrills, Express p54 – 4* Robert Spellman, Mirror Ticket p8 – 4* Gavin Martin, Sun SFTW p52 – 5* Simon Cosyns, Independent Arts p22 – 5* Andy Gill, Guardian Music p9 - 4* Michael Hann)
- Candi Staton (Mail p50 – 4* Adrian Thrills, Express p54 – 3* Robert Spellman, Mirror Ticket p8 – 4* Gavin Martin, Guardian Music p9 - 3* Dorian Lynskey)
- Van Morrison (Mirror Ticket p8 – 5* Gavin Martin, Sun SFTW p54 – 4.5* Simon Cosyns, Independent Arts p22 – 5* Andy Gill)
- The Fray (Mirror Ticket p8 – 2* Gavin Martin, Sun SFTW p52 – 4* Jacqui Swift)
- Emmy The Great (Sun SFTW p53 – 3.5* Simon Cosyns, Times2 p15 – 4* Pete Paphides, Guardian Music p9 - 3* Caroline Sullivan)
- Woodpigeon (Guardian Music p9 - 4* Jude Rogers)
- Pure At Heart (Guardian Music p9 - 3* Maddy Costa)
- The View (Sun SFTW p53 – 4* Jacqui Swift)
- All American Rejects (Sun SFTW p53 – 3* Jacqui Swift)
- Phosphorescence (Sun SFTW p52 – 4* Simon Cosyns)
- V/A Brits (Sun SFTW p52 – 5* GS)
- Omar Rodriguez Lopez (Sun SFTW p52 – 3* Simon Cosyns)
- Buddy Holly (Sun SFTW p50 – 5* Simon Cosyns)
- John Frusciante (Sun SFTW p51 – 4* Simon Cosyns)
- Hot Leg (Sun SFTW p51 – 4* GF)
- The Bird And The Bee (Mail p50 – 3* Adrian Thrills, Guardian Music p9 - 2* Dave Simpson)
- Andrew Bird (Mirror Ticket p8 – 4* Gavin Martin)
- John McCusker (Mirror Ticket p8 – 3* Gavin Martin)
- Jeb Loy Nichols (Independent Arts p22 – 4* Andy Gill)
- Ben Kweller (Independent Arts p22 – 3* Andy Gill)
- James Taylor (Express p54 – 2* Robert Spellman)
- Antony and the Johnsons (Express p54 – 3* Robert Spellman)
- Charles Aznavour (Express p54 – 3* Robert Spellman)
- Singles
- St Etienne (2*), The Killers (3*), The Qemists (3*), Anthoney Wright (2*) (Mirror Ticket p9 - Gavin Martin)
- Prodigy (4.5*), Empire of the Sun (5*), Alesha Dixon (3.5*), Justice (3.5*), Morrissey (3.5*), The Killers (4.5*), Beyonce (2*), St Etienne (3*), Crystal Castles (3.5*), Sebastien Grainger (3.5*) (Sun SFTW p54 – Jacqui Swift)
Jazz, world, folk etc
- Geir Lysne Ensemble (4*), Bill Bruford (4*), Nathan Riki Thomson (3*), Jonatha Brooke (3*), ShivaNova (2*), John Martyn (4*) (Guardian Music p11)
Live
- The Airborne Toxic Event - 100 Club London (ThisIsLondon - 4* John Aizlewood, Times2 p17 – 4* Lisa Verrico)
- Amanda Palmer - London Electric Ballroom (FT p15 - 2* Ludovic Hunter-Tilney)
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| The bigger picture |
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- Tribes author Seth Godin says people, not ads, build social networks. (Wired)
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