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Gaye family discuss 'Blurred Lines' win As previously reported, the Gaye family accused Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke of ripping off Gaye's track 'Got To Give It Up' for their song 'Blurred Lines', though the resulting legal squabble confirmed that the latter hit was almost entirely written by Williams, making him the main alleged ripper offer. And despite some strong arguments from the 'Blurred Lines' duo's legal rep that the undeniable similarities between the two songs were simply common elements of pop music, rather than direct copies, the jury hearing the case sided with the Gayes earlier this week, awarding them $7.3 million of the money Williams and Thicke made from their record. And the family's lawyers are now seeking an injunction stopping distribution of the track until a deal can be struck on future royalties. Speaking about the moment when the jury's decision was announced in court on Tuesday, Janis Gaye, Marvin's ex-wife, said: "My heart started pounding but I still had faith that the verdict was going to go our way. [When it did], that's when I lost it completely. And I was filled with incredibly powerful emotion". Asked about the many commentators who have said that the jury made the wrong decision, and set a dangerous precedent regarding when creative inspiration becomes copyright infringement, Nona Gaye, Marvin's daughter, said: "I don't think there's anything wrong with being inspired. I've been inspired when I made music before. Inspiration's fine, but the line is when you decide to take the complete and utter essence out of the song. When you take all the meat, and leave the bones". And noting Williams' admission that he wrote the core of 'Blurred Lines' in a mere hour, Janis added: "When I first heard that he had said he did it in an hour, my first thought was, 'That's because it was already done in 1977'. So why would it take you any longer than 20 minutes... to redo something that had already been done 40 years earlier?" But what's all this about 'Happy' sounding rather like 'Ain't That Peculiar'? Has that pesky Pharrell been dipping into the Gaye box of grooves a second time? "I'm not going to lie. I do think they sound alike", mused Nona. Lawsuit-level sound-alike though? Not now. "We're not in that space", she added. Yeah, given how controversial the jury's decision was in the 'Blurred Lines' case, perhaps quit while you're ahead. Plus, of course, there's almost certainly a nice big appeal still to come regarding the 'Blurred Lines' judgement. Which will a least make the lawyers Happy. Ain't That Peculiar? No. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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New Order take publishing to Universal The deal covers the full catalogue of albums and tracks as made by the band's original four members, so albums like 'Power, Corruption & Lies' and 'Republic', and songs like 'Blue Monday', 'Regret' and 'True Faith'. Confirming the deal, Prime Management's Rebecca Boulton - who reps original and current New Order members Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert - told reporters: "We're really happy to be signing our catalogue to Universal Music Publishing and consolidating our great relationship with [its President Europe] Paul Connolly, [Creative Director] Darryl Watts and all the fantastic staff at Universal". She went on: "They've done an excellent job on the Joy Division catalogue over the last eight years and we're looking forward to continuing that success with New Order. It wasn't an easy decision to make the move, however the time felt right for change for New Order". "But what about Hookie?" you all wonder. Don't worry, the band's estranged former bass man is on board with this too. He added: "When you get to 58 there aren't many momentous occasions in your life, but I had one recently. Our publishing was up for renewal and Darryl Watts at Universal - who are doing a wonderful job with Joy Division - said to me, 'I've been waiting 20 years for this moment'. And you know what... so had I!" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Strathallan Estate owners defend decision to host T In The Park As previously reported, T In The Park promoters DF Concerts announced the festival would be leaving its long-term home at Balado in Kinross before last year's event took place, subsequently announcing Strathallan Castle in Perthshire as its new site. The move is still being considered by Perth And Kinross Council after an initial consultation resulted in 523 submissions, slightly more against than for the proposal. Meanwhile RSPB Scotland and the Woodland Trust Scotland, while not lodging formal objections, have both raised concerns about an event the size of T In The Park coming to the Strathallan Estate. But co-owners of the site, Jamie and Debs Roberts, insist T coming to their property will be good for the local area, while disputing some of the claims made by the RSPB and Woodland Trust. According to the BBC, they said: "Our family has owned Strathallan Estate for more than a century and it is with a deep sense of heritage and responsibility that we steward the land and the buildings we are fortunate to be responsible for". They added: "We have lived and run our business in the area for decades and take no decision lightly, least of all such a significant one for the future as this. Strathallan has a wonderful environment that we have done much to protect and enhance. It is not our intention to change this - after all the environs of the estate are the main attraction for DF Concerts to hold T In The Park here". Insisting that the arrival of the festival would be good for the local area, they went on: "Strathearn has opened its arms to the world with events such as the Ryder Cup and G8 summit. It is vital that T In The Park is given the platform to continue to complement these events and further raise the profile of Perth and Kinross as a world-renowned venue. The people of Strathearn should be proud of this opportunity and embrace it. It isn't something to be ashamed of. It is modern, forward thinking and a true recognition of the vibrancy of what rural Scotland should be". A second public consultation is being held to consider the festival taking place at Strathallan, with council officials seeking more information from DF about their plans. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jay-Z's Tidal bid seemingly approved As previously reported, while key shareholders and management at Swedish firm Aspiro quickly backed the bid by a Jay-Z led vehicle to buy the streaming music firm, an association representing smaller investors said the deal wasn't generous enough. But then this week a rep for those minority shareholders said he was now recommending all investors accept the bid which, according to Nordic business news service E24, means the deal now has the green light. Quite what big, bold and ambitious moves Jay-Z and his team will make in order to help WiMP and Tidal stand out in the increasingly crowded streaming music marketplace remains to be seen. I know, how about a freemium option playing only music released by Ministry Of Sound? -------------------------------------------------- Spotify predicts one billion pay out to Universal alone over next two years It's widely believed, of course, that negotiations for the latest renewal of Spotify's licence from Universal Music are heavy going, because the major is having second thoughts about freemium. While everyone just loves Spotify's fifteen million paying users, many reckon that the 45 million freemium streamers that the service is also propping up are a problem, because ad revenues are modest. And many in the record industry now believe that a big chunk of those freemium Spotify users are ex-iTunes customers, which is why download sales are in decline. Spotify begs to differ of course, but aside from any hit iTunes is or is not taking from Spotify Free, such a good freemium offer from the market leader is making it difficult for people seeking to nurture a mid-market streaming service, offering less catalogue or functionality for a lower monthly subscription. But it seems highly unlikely that Universal could pull from Spotify, a service in which it has equity. Whether it can force refinements on freemium remains to be seen, though the message from Spotify in the email shared with the Post is clear: freemium is building premium, and you need those premium users as much as we do. According to the Post, Spotify reckons that its royalties will account for 16% of the major's revenues by March 2017, up from an expected 11% in the year ahead. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ITV buys 'The Voice' maker Confirming its programme making division had now agreed terms with the Dutch media company set up by Endemol co-founder John De Mol, ITV said the deal was a "further milestone in the company's strategy of building an international content business" and that it "significantly strengthens ITV's position as a leading producer in Europe". The deal could be worth up to 1.1 billion euros, depending on future performance, with 500 million euros paid up front. Commenting on the deal from his side, De Mol said: "Of all the potential partners for Talpa, there's no doubt ITV is the best fit. When it comes to the importance of content, the strategy of both successful companies is exactly the same and for Talpa this represents a fantastic opportunity for strong further growth. It also enables me personally to concentrate and focus even more on creating new, groundbreaking content". Of course, this now means that the BBC, rather then creating its own talent show franchise, is now not only buying in an expensive pre-made format, but it's buying it in from its biggest UK competitor. Good times. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Slipknot guitarist fights with brother, gets stabbed in the head I'm being a little bit flippant here because we're assured neither brother's injuries are life-threatening. I hope that's true. Seemingly confirming that Thomson was not so badly injured as "stabbed in the head" might suggest, the band's tour manager has told news channel KCCI that the incident won't affect Sliptknot's upcoming North American tour and European festival bookings, the former of which kicks off next month. -------------------------------------------------- Snoop Dogg joins anti-gun pension investment campaign Fellow musicians Aloe Blacc and Jhené Aiko are also involved in the Unload Your 401k campaign - the name a reference to 401k retirement portfolios. In a promotional video for the campaign, Snoop talks about the effect guns have had on his life, saying that he is "unloading for my loved ones that I lost". You can watch the video here, and find out more at unloadyour401k.com. -------------------------------------------------- Deftones frontman talks new album "The songs are amazing, and we wrote them in a really cool way", he said. "We had all of us in a room together with one person expressing an idea and another person jumping on it. The songs are really built as a collective. We have five guys who have almost completely different takes on music, so when it works, it works great". He added: "I think it's a little more of a heady record. I feel like we've gone into the songs and really dissected them. If something sounded a little straight, we took a left turn and made things a little screwy. We just tried something completely opposite, not to sabotage it, but to challenge ourselves and try new things that we haven't done in the past". The band's last album, 'Koi No Yokan', was released in 2012. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Muse announce new album, single premieres tonight Of the album frontman Matt Bellamy says: "To me, drones are metaphorical psychopaths which enable psychopathic behaviour with no recourse. The world is run by drones utilizing drones to turn us all into drones. This album explores the journey of a human, from their abandonment and loss of hope, to their indoctrination by the system to be a human drone, to their eventual defection from their oppressors". The first single from the album will be unveiled on YouTube at 6pm tonight. So be ready. Here are those tour dates: 15 Mar: Belfast, Ulster Hall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Orchard's Bling Pig deal, INgrooves' SideOneDummy deal, Russell Brand's Xfm deal, and some non-deals too Other notable announcements and developments today... • The Orchard confirmed a deal with American blues and roots label Blind Pig Records earlier this week which sees the company acquire the record company's catalogue and work with the Blind Pig team on five album releases in the coming year. "Timeless", said Blind Pig founder Edward Chmelewski. • Distributor INgrooves has announced it has expanded its partnership with Hollywood-based SideOneDummy Records, so that it will now provide worldwide distribution, plus publishing and marketing services. "Feels", says SideOneDummy founder Bill Armstrong. • Mark Williamson has been promoted to the role of VP International Strategy & Artist Development at Universal's Global Classics division. He will also continue as President of the Deutsche Grammophon label in the short term, until a successor is recruited. "Calibre", says Global Classics boss Dickon Stainer. • Russell Brand is coming back to Xfm, having done a deal to syndicate his podcast to the station. It'll run on Sunday evening, 9-10pm, from this weekend. "Great", says Xfm Managing Editor, Chris Baughen. • Kendrick Lamar has revealed the artwork and title of his new album. The title is 'To Pimp A Butterfly', the artwork looks like this. • Having stopped tweeting in January, JME returned to Twitter yesterday to announce that his new album, 'Integrity>', will be out on 4 May. He then got to work posting two months worth of tweets in the space of a few hours. Amongst them was the video for the title track and another for a track called 'Work'. • Sufjan Stevens has shared a second track from his new album, 'Carrie & Lowell'. You can listen to 'Should Have Known Better' here. • Norwegian producer Stockhaus has just released the first track from his new album, 'Labour Of Love', which is out on 27 Apr. The track, titled 'Miss Big Cheese', is here. • Having played a thirteenth anniversary show in Tokyo this week, visual kei crew The GazettE have announced their eighth album, 'Dogma'. It'll receive its European release through JPU Records in August. • With his Fuck Buttons partner Benjamin Power back on his Blanck Mass project, Andrew Hung has also announced a solo release, an EP called 'Rave Cave'. Written on a Nintendo Game Boy, you can hear a track from it, 'The Plane', here. • Another track from Mikal Cronin's new album is here. It is 'Gold'. • The list of exclusive releases for this year's Record Store Day has been published. There are just under 600 items on it. Daft. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Madonna finds 'difficult' label difficult to understand As previously reported, Armani dubbed Madonna "difficult" after being asked to comment on her fall while performing at The BRITs, the fall having been caused by the Armani-designed cape she was wearing being tied too tightly. But, said the fashion man, that was because she'd poo-pooed his suggestion that the cape be fastened with a little hook. He told reporters at Milan Fashion Week: "The cape had a hook and she wanted a tie, and she wasn't able to open it with her hands. That's all there is to it. Madonna, as we all know, is very difficult". Asked to remark on that remark by The Sun, Madonna blurted: "I don't know why he said that. When I read it, I was like, 'Oh really?'" Though possibly keen not to seem too difficult on this, she added: "He made me a lovely outfit. I was very appreciative. Afterward, he sent me flowers. He thanked me and applauded me for getting back on stage". | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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