Warner Music has submitted a complaint to media regulator OfCom claiming that this weekend ‘X-Factor’ producers unfairly prioritised artists signed to Sony Music for its highly viewed final shows.

Sony, of course, owns half of Simon Cowell’s Syco company, one of the producers of the tedious telly talent contest. Even with ratings slipping somewhat this series, ‘X-Factor’ is still by far the most watched music programme on British TV, hence the desire of pretty much every mainstream pop star, however big, to guest on the show when they have something to flog.

Although Sony Music has a stake in the talent show, OfCom rules mean that the major can’t overtly use it as a promotional platform for its own acts, so producers usually go out of their way to ensure artists from the other three majors are represented. However, four of the six artists to guest on the final two editions of ‘X-Factor’ for 2011 this weekend came from Sony labels.

That said, three were former ‘X-Factor’ contestants who have gone on to have successful pop careers, so their presence was possibly editorially justified, though two of them – JLS and One Direction – were former losers, arguably rendering the final votes the shows were staged to host pointless.

According to The Guardian, who reported that Warner had filed a complaint with OfCom ahead of this weekend’s ‘X’ shows on Friday, insiders at the major were particularly pissed off that former ‘X’ winner Leona Lewis appeared, as she has no current album to promote, and some reckon her terrible cover versions EP, released on Friday, was put out just to capitalise on her ‘X-Factor’ guest spot.

Noting that the fourth Sony act to guest was Westlife, The Guardian quoted an ‘industry insider’ as saying: “‘The ‘X-Factor’ final should feature the biggest acts in the world. Leona Lewis is already frankly on the way down. JLS and One Direction have already been on this series, and you have to question the choice of Westlife”.

Warner’s complaint was specifically against ITV, the actual OfCom licence holder here, and accused the commercial channel of failing to exercise proper editorial control over its pop talent show. The Guardian suggested that Universal Music may also submit a complaint, though given three of the current ‘X-Factor’ judges are signed to its labels, plus Universal enjoys a good relationship with ITV as the producer of most of the channel’s other prime time pop specials, that actually seems unlikely.

Syco and ITV have already disputed Warner’s claims, pointing out that over the whole series Universal artists had the most exposure on the show this year, that most of the Sony acts to appear are editorially relevant former ‘X’ contestants, and that both Warner and EMI had three acts each on the programme, including one each on the final weekend.

In amongst all that promotion and product placement, the final two stages of the talent contest were able to occur, with Little Mix being declared the overall winners of this year’s competition. Their cover of the Damien Rice song ‘Cannonball’ is out today, meaning it will have to stay top of the singles chart for two weeks to be Christmas number one, the festive chart coming out on Christmas Day this year.
http://www.thecmuwebsite.com/article/warner-accuse...or-producers-of-sony-act-bias/

The Warner and Sony music companies yesterday joined Universal’s increasingly raucous ‘We Hate Grooveshark, It Must Die’ party, by adding their names to their rival’s latest lawsuit against the increasingly controversial streaming music website.

As previously reported, some in the record industry reckon Grooveshark is guilty of copyright infringement for allowing users to upload tracks to the streaming service’s library from labels with which the digital firm has no licensing agreements, including Universal, Sony and Warner. But Grooveshark says it operates a takedown system and routinely removes said content if made aware of it by a rights owner, and therefore enjoys protection under US copyright law.

Some would argue Grooveshark is right, while even those who support the record labels would agree this is a grey area of American copyright law and victory for the rights owners in a straightforward copyright infringement lawsuit is not assured. (Of course Grooveshark operates globally, and outside the US said ‘takedown system’ protection doesn’t technically apply, though most legal squabbles with the Florida-based streaming service so far have been in the US).

However, Universal’s most recent lawsuit alleges that it’s not only Grooveshark’s users who are uploading unlicensed content, but that employees and directors at the streaming music company do also. If that could be proven to be so, then the Groovesharkers would not be able to use the safe harbour provisions of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act to circumvent liability for infringement.

Of course Universal is not the first rights owner to sue Grooveshark, but similar actions by both EMI and indie labels rights body Merlin were settled and licensing agreements subsequently reached. While Grooveshark recognises Universal is its biggest adversary, insiders at the company have hoped that label’s legal action could be resolved out of court also, if only because as the months go by the Grooveshark user base, and the stats the company has about those users, increase in number and therefore value.

But Universal, which may well have the power to revoke the EMI licence at some point should its acquisition of the British record company go ahead, has never seemed in the mood to negotiate, seemingly applying the same policy to Grooveshark as it did to LimeWire – ignoring how good or valuable the service might be, refusing to forgive past piracy, and moving to sue the company out of business.

Warner Music and Sony Music were added to Universal’s legal complaint against Grooveshark yesterday, meaning the digital firm is now facing a court battle with the three biggest music rights owners in the world. Grooveshark seems ready for a fight though, arguing that Universal’s evidence that its employees are uploading unlicensed music is weak.

But it has to be said, however misguided you think the record industry may be when it sues digital companies like Grooveshark, or the P2P providers of old, major litigation such as this in the US rarely ends well for the digital operators, unless they have access to multi-million dollar funds to aid out of court negotiations.

Jon Bon Jovi insists he’s not dead

http://www.thecmuwebsite.com/article/jon-bon-jovi-insists-hes-not-dead/

Jon Bon Jovi, who was rumoured to have died this past Monday, has published a dated picture of himself to prove that he is, in fact, still alive. Reports of the rocker’s apparent demise began when little-known WordPress site Dailynewsbloginternational.com claimed that he’d suffered a fatal heart-attack aged 49.

The story was later revealed to be a hoax, adapted by the site from the LA Times’ 2009 commentary on the death of Michael Jackson. Dailynewsblog creators seem only to have written one other article, posing the pertinent if slightly ungrammatical question: “Would you still do Megan Fox if u know that she has a HIV positive?” So, never an especially reliable news source then.

Anyway. Bon Jovi’s response to the rumours was to post a photo on his band’s Facebook page in which he stands, holding a piece of paper that reads: “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey”. No play on ‘It’s My Life’, then. How about ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’ or ‘Livin On A Prayer’? Fine.

So there you are, irrefutable evidence that Jon Bon Jovi lives. Or, at least, that his preserved corpse has been convincingly propped up next to a Christmas tree.

Джон Бон Джови, который, по слухам, умер в прошедший понедельник, опубликовал свое фото, чтобы доказать, что он, по сути, еще жив. Сообщения о смерте рокера началась, когда малоизвестный WordPress сайта Dailynewsbloginternational.com стал утверждать, что у него случился сердечый приступ в возрасте 49.

 Позже выяснилось, что эта история является мистификацией, скопированой с истории из Los Angeles Times 2009 года, которая объявила о смерти Майкла Джексона.

 Так или иначе. В ответ на слухи Бон Джови разместил фото на Facebookе , на странице своей группы, держа в руках лист бумаги с надписью: "Небо выглядит как Нью-Джерси".
 Так вот, это является неопровержимым доказательством того, что Джон Бон Джови жив. 

Relentless Records присоединяется к Sony Music

Relentless Records joins Sony Music

http://www.thecmuwebsite.com/article/relentless-records-joins-sony-music/

Sony Music has announced plans to relaunch former EMI imprint Relentless Records, with co-founder Shabs Jobanputra back at the helm.

Relentless was founded in 1999 by Jobanputra and Paul Franklyn, catching the rise of UK garage with signings such as Craig David, Artful Dodger and So Solid Crew. The label began working with EMI in 2003 for the release of Joss Stone’s debut album, ‘The Soul Sessions’, and in 2009 was sold to the major’s Virgin Records UK division, of which Jobanputra became president.

But, as previously reported, Jobanputra left EMI in April last year, and while the Relentless roster – including Roll Deep, KT Tunstall and Cage The Elephant – stayed with the major, he took the label’s name with him. In July last year the company released Ms Dynamite’s ‘Neva Soft’ single, and its first signings as part of Sony Music are grime producer Rude Kid and folk musician Misty Miller.

Announcing the news, Sony Music UK’s CEO Nick Gatfield (and former colleague of Jobanputra at EMI), said: “Shabs has a tremendous track record of working with artists across multiple genres. He is a great addition to our A&R capability”.

Jobanputra added: “I’m very excited to bring Relentless Records to Sony Music. There are lot of great people here and I hope to learn lots as we begin the next chapter”.

http://www.thecmuwebsite.com/article/aeg-collabora...seacrest-on-new-us-tv-channel/

Live firm AEG will expand the brand it launched in the US last summer as a ticketing portal via the launch of a new entertainment TV channel which also counts talent agency CAA and American TV and radio star Ryan Seacrest as partners.

AEG started selling tickets via its AXS.com website last August, part of the tour promoter and venue owner’s move away from the Ticketmaster platform, which is, of course, now owned by its main competitor Live Nation. AXS.com was part of AEG’s partnership with ticketing technology company Outbox Enterprises, and has quietly been expanding since going online last summer.

AXS TV will replace existing cable network HDNet in the US, which is owned by business mogul Mark Cuban, who is also a partner in the new broadcasting venture. It will be an entertainment network, airing mainly live lifestyle and entertainment magazine programmes, possibly utilising content filmed at AEG’s tours, events and venues. Seacrest will be an investor and advisor, though isn’t expected to appear on the network himself.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, AEG have been planning a TV venture with Seacrest for a few years now, though it’s interesting that the resulting new network will expand the live firm’s newish consumer-facing brand. It remains to be seen just how many synergies there are between the AXS TV station and ticketing platform, and whether AEG have any other ambitions in the media space, as a business in itself, or a marketing channel for its other ventures.

http://www.thecmuwebsite.com/article/michael-jacks...songs-to-be-given-to-scotland/

David Gest is hoping to donate an album of songs he and Michael Jackson wrote to the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Ayrshire. Which might sound like a slightly strange thing to do. And it still does, even when you know that the songs form a musical based on Burns’ life. Jackson and Gest were both fans of the celebrated eighteenth century Scottish poet it seems (Gest still is), so much so they collaborated on the previously unheard Burns musical in the 1980s.

Explaining how the record came about, Gest told BBC Alba in a recent documentary: “I said to Michael, let’s do a play [based on] Burns’ life and he said he would help me with the music. Michael believed in the project so much. We took about eight or ten of Burns’ poems and put them to contemporary music, such as ‘A Red Red Rose’, ‘Ae Fond Kiss’ and the story of ‘Tam O’Shanter’”.

The songs were both written and recorded, but never released, and it doesn’t look like the Jackson estate has any plans to give them an airing now the king of pop is dead, motivating Gest to try and regain control of the songs, so he can hand them over to the Rabbie Burns museum, who might even release them.

Nat Edwards, the Director of the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum told The List: “We had a chat and thought it would be great if we could play them at the museum and he offered to look them out and provide copies so we could do that. We would very much be looking forward to getting hold of these recordings and if possible for us to produce some sort of CD that could help raise money for the museum. That would be fantastic”.