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Taking The PRS
As you have probably heard by now, YouTube is in the process of blocking music videos to its UK users because of a financial dispute with the PRS (the organisation which collects royalties on behalf of artists and songwriters).
A blog entry posted yesterday by Patrick Walker, YouTube’s Director of Video Partnerships, cited ‘prohibitive licensing fees’ as the sticking point.
According to Walker, if YouTube were to pay royalties at the rate which the PRS are now demanding, they would ‘lose significant amounts of money with every playback’.
Assuming this is the truth (and I have no reason to believe otherwise), then it’s yet another case of music industry short-sightedness.
I should point out that I’m not pointing the finger at the record labels. God knows it took them long enough to embrace the internet rather than try to fight it (eg. Napster), but their willingness to work with free streaming site Spotify suggests those days are finally over.
The PRS, on the other hand, appear stuck in the dark ages. They seem unable to grasp that greater exposure to music increases people’s desire to consume it.
Watching a reduced quality video for free on YouTube is never going to replace the full high-definition musical experience.
What it may well do, however, is prompt you to buy an album or a gig ticket or a T-shirt.
Why do you think music videos are known as ‘promos’ within the industry? They are literally promotional tools -adverts, in other words. Not only that, they are adverts whose makers get paid when they are shown!
In the digital age, the PRS shouldn’t be agitating for more cash. They should be silently rubbing their hands with glee at the fact they’re still getting paid at all.
* You can still watch thousands of music videos for free on MSN Video Jukebox
Jade’s eventful weekend
Jade Goody is resting today after she was faced with a female intruder holding a hammer on Sunday afternoon.
Publicist Max Clifford said the star was unhurt but "very shaken up" by the incident which took place in Jade’s room at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital. The woman was arrested and taken into custody but released without charge.
Jade and her sons took part in an emotional christening ceremony at the hospital on Saturday. Bobby, five, Freddy, four, and their mum were christened during what Clifford described as a "very short and emotional service". He also revealed that the ceremony, which was covered by OK! magazine, would be Jade’s last public event.
The 27-year-old’s condition is now so grave that she only stays awake for several minutes at a time, he explained. But Jade got a much-needed boost over the weekend when Michael Jackson phoned to wish her well . According to The Sun, Jacko also promised VIP tickets to his UK shows for her, husband Jack and her sons in July.
Amy charged after allegedly punching fan
Amy Winehouse may have moved out of Camden, the scene of much of her debauched behaviour (to Hadley Wells in Enfield), but she can’t escape her past… the star has been charged with assault after allegedly hitting a fan at a charity concert last September.
The incident took place at End Of Summer ball, a £700-a-ticket fundraising event in London’s Berkeley Square. The alleged victim, Sherene Flash, states that Amy reacted badly when she asked her to pose for a picture, punching Flash in the eye and running off.
Amy was questioned and charged at West End Central police station and will appear in court on March 17. Her spokesperson confirmed the incident: "Amy voluntarily attended a police station in London yesterday morning. She was questioned by appointment in relation to an accusation made after the Berkeley ball last year. She was charged with common assault and will attend a court hearing in the coming weeks."
Jacko Announcement
I’ve just watched Michael Jackson announce, well, not very much at the O2 centre in London.
Aside from declaring "this is it" several times (without ever clarifying what "it" might be) and claiming the dates in July would be the last time he’d ever play live, he didn’t really say much at all.
But he did say it in an uncharacteristically deep voice.
If he’s as good as his word and the UK dates this summer do turn out to be his final pay day, it seems an odd place to do it.
This is the country, remember, responsible for the Martin Bashir documentary which led to his most recent court case. It’s also home to arguably the world’s least forgiving tabloid press.
Then again, judging by the hysterical reaction of the people who’d turned out to see him speak for all of two minutes, we might also have more Jacko-worshipping lunatics per capita than anywhere else.
Suddenly it makes perfect sense.
Ashley Cole arrested
Footballer Ashley Cole has been arrested and charged with being drunk and disorderly after a night out in London.
"Cole was held after swearing repeatedly at police and refusing to calm down after emerging from Collections Nightclub in South Kensington at around 2am," BBC reporter Ben Ando confirmed.
A Scotland Yard spokesperson told reporters that the 28-year-old Chelsea player was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly: "He was taken to a central London police station where he was issued with a fixed penalty notice for being drunk and disorderly and released shortly after 5.30am."
We wonder what Ashley’s wife Cheryl Cole will say when she finds out – Cheryl is currently climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for BBC’s Comic Relief.
Jacko’s Backo
It’s been the stuff of rumour for months but now it seems almost certain that Michael Jackson will play a 30-gig residency at the 02 centre this summer.
A press conference has been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at which the man himself might make an appearance. He’s known to be in the country anyway.
Up until relatively recently, the idea that Jacko might do anything purely because he needs the money would have been ridiculous but the accumulative effect of legal costs, poor record sales, and his unreconstructed attitude to spending have left him short of cash.
I don’t think it’s just about boosting the Jacko coffers though. He’s got an ego the size of a small country and desperately craves the oxygen of approval that only an adoring crowd can provide.
Also, I’m sure the fact that he’ll be trumping arch-rival Prince’s much-heralded 21-night stand at the same venue won’t have escaped his attention.
When Jacko turned 50 last year, Tom Townshend wrote a piece asking what it would take to restore him to his erstwhile position as the King of Pop. In that article, Tom doubted whether MJ was physically capable of pulling off a Prince-style residency.
Was Tom wrong? As with so much in the Michael Jackson story, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Taylor Made For Success
I hate to say ‘I told you so’ (ok, I don’t mind really) but Taylor Swift going straight in at number two in the charts yesterday with Love Story, her debut UK single, proves I was right to include her in my Ones To Watch article before Christmas.
She didn’t feature in any of the cooler-than-thou lists put out by the likes of the BBC, NME, The Observer etc… at the back end of last year.
No doubt the people who put those other lists together would say they’re only in the business of predicting ‘credible’ talent. Well, in the immortal words of a Big Brother contestant from some years ago whose name I forget, "Two words – whatever".
The music’s not really to my taste either (think Avril Lavigne crossed with Shania Twain) but surely the point of these things is to predict who is going to sell records and be all over the radio in the 12 months ahead?
Music snobbery is a terrible thing. Mind you, so is being smug so I’ll shut up now.
NME Awards – Full List Of Winners
The Cure picked up the 2009 Godlike Genius award at the Shockwaves NME Awards in London last night.
Robert Smith’s band received the award from Hollywood director Tim Burton and NME Editor Conor McNicholas at the ceremony, which took place at the O2 Academy Brixton.
Elsewhere, despite being 15 years past their best, Oasis won Best British Band. Go on, hammer me in the comments for saying that.
Anyway, here’s the full list (winners in bold):
BEST BRITISH BAND supported by Shockwaves
Oasis
Bloc Party
Radiohead
Muse
Last Shadow Puppets
BEST INTERNATIONAL BAND supported by 4music
Kings Of Leon
The Killers
MGMT
Vampire Weekend
Crystal Castles
BEST SOLO ARTIST
Ladyhawke
Jay-Z
Laura Marling
Lightspeed Champion
Peter Doherty
BEST NEW BAND supported by Bench
Vampire Weekend
MGMT
Glasvegas
Late Of The Pier
White Lies
BEST LIVE BAND supported by Red Stripe
Radiohead
Oasis
The Killers
Muse
Kings Of Leon
BEST ALBUM supported by HMV
Kings Of Leon – ‘Only By The Night’
The Killers – ‘Day & Age’
Glasvegas – ‘Glasvegas’
Oasis – ‘Dig Out Your Soul’
Bloc Party – ‘Intimacy’
BEST TRACK supported by NME Radio
Vampire Weekend – ‘A-Punk’
The Last shadow Puppets – ‘The Age Of The Understatement’
Kings Of Leon – ‘Sex On Fire’
The Ting Tings – ‘That’s Not My Name’
MGMT – ‘Time To Pretend’
BEST VIDEO supported by NME TV
Late Of The Pier – ‘Heartbeat’
The Last Shadow Puppets – ‘My Mistakes Were Made For You’
Radiohead – ‘House Of Cards’
Vampire Weekend – ‘A-Punk’
Oasis – ‘The Shock Of The Lightning’
BEST LIVE EVENT
T in the Park
Glastonbury
Isle Of Wight Festival
Reading And Leeds Festival
V Festival
BEST TV
Skins
The Mighty Boosh
Gavin & Stacey
Never Mind The Buzzcocks
The IT Crowd
BEST DANCEFLOOR FILLER
Bloc Party – ‘Mercury’
Dizzee Rascal – ‘Dance Wiv Me’
Crystal Castles – ‘Courtship Dating’
Friendly Fires – ‘Paris’
Late Of The Pier – ‘Bathroom Gurgle’
BEST DVD
Foo Fighters – ‘Live At Wembley Stadium’
The Rolling Stones – ‘Shine A Light’
Kaiser Chiefs – ‘Live At Elland Road’
Arctic Monkeys – ‘At The Apollo’
Muse – ‘HAARP’
BEST BAND BLOG
Noel Gallagher / Oasis
Little Boots
Lightspeed Champion
Radiohead
Foals
BEST VENUE
London 02 Arena
London Astoria
Glasgow Barrowland
London 02 Brixton Academy
Manchester Apollo
BEST ALBUM ARTWORK
We Are Scientists – ‘Brian Thrust Mastery’
Muse – ‘HAARP’
The Cure – ‘4:13 Dream’
Guillemots – ‘Red’
The Killers – ‘Day & Age’
HERO OF THE YEAR
Brandon Flowers
Noel Gallagher
Barack Obama
Noel Fielding
Alex Turner
VILLAIN OF THE YEAR
Amy Winehouse
George W Bush
Peter Doherty
John McCain
Gordon Brown
BEST DRESSED
Brandon Flowers
Noel Fielding
Alexa Chung
Alex Turner
Noel Gallagher
WORST DRESSED
Amy Winehouse
Peter Doherty
Katy Perry
Brandon Flowers
Johnny Borrell
WORST ALBUM
Jonas Brothers – ‘A Little Bit Longer’
Coldplay – ‘Viva La Vida’
Britney Spears – ‘Circus’
Scouting For Girls – ‘Scouting For Girls’
Razorlight – ‘Slipway Fires’
WORST BAND
Tokio Hotel
Jonas Brothers
Scouting for Girls
Fall Out Boy
Oasis
SEXIEST MALE
Carl Barât
Keith Murray
Matt Bellamy
Peter Doherty
Miles Kane
SEXIEST FEMALE
Hayley Williams
Kate Jackson
Alison Mosshart
Lykke Li
Stephanie Dosen
BEST WEBSITE
Facebook
YouTube
Last FM
MySpace
Bebo
Springsteen To Boss Glasto 2009
After the bashing they took for booking rapper Jay-Z to headline last year, it seems Glastonbury organisers Michael and Emily Eavis are playing it ultra-safe this time.
Not only is rock legend Bruce Springsteen topping the bill on the Saturday night, the other confirmed (or at least strongly rumoured) headliners are Neil Young, Coldplay, and the newly reformed Blur.
Am I the only one who feels a bit depressed by this?
I can’t say I blame the Eavises. 2008 was Glastonbury’s annus horribilis. Not only did it fail to sell out for the first time in many years, its whole raison d’etre was questioned openly in the media – including by me.
My concern is that last year’s attempt to shake things up will be written off as a never-to-be-repeated bad idea when it was only the execution that was misguided.
Speaking in advance of Glasto 2008, Michael Eavis said, "We’re trying to get youngsters to the festival this year. Hopefully the headliner will appeal to them. Traditionally we’ve had a very white line up and I’m moving away from that."
His worries about the festival becoming progressively more middle-aged and middle-class were entirely valid. I’m just hoping this year’s lineup isn’t evidence that he’s abandoned that idea permanently.
Oscars 2010!
One of the more interesting segments of the Oscars is the part where they look forward at the movies likely to by vying for awards next year.
Of course it’s far too early to make any accurate predictions. But, public enemies looks like a beast of a crime thriller. The Boat That Rocked may also find itself in contention if it carries sufficient indie charm.
However, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I don’t think Night At The Museum 2 will be nominated for anything.
