26th Jul 2011
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Album sales continue to spiral in the UK, falling to their lowest level since 1998 and dropping by over 25% below the same point in 2010.Despite the ‘Mercury effect’ that has pushed joint favourite Adele to the top of the album charts yet again, recorded music sales continue to decline.
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The music world is reeling in shock following the tragic death of pop star Amy Winehouse on Saturday at the age of 27.Police were called to the star’s Camden home around 4pm on Saturday (23 July) and her death was confirmed shortly afterwards, though the exact cause remains unclear at present.The troubled singer-songwriter had struggled with demons including alcohol and drug problems for some time and only last month had to abandon a comeback tour after a disastrous show in Belgrade in which a clearly intoxicated Winehouse was booed off-stage by fans.
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The Guardian has published its annual media 100 influential ‘power list’, with new media unsurprisingly dominating the top five.Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg topped the list with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey snapping at his heels at number two, demonstrating just how far the micro-blogging site has come, with more than 200m accounts created since 2006.
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In what could pave the way for a re-launch in the UK, streaming and virtual club night site Turntable.fmhas announced deals with ASCAP and BMI, the two major publishing rights collecting societies in America.
20th Jul 2011
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The shortlist for this year’s Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize has been announced, with Adele and PJ Harvey emerging as immediate favourites at 4/1. Anna Calvi, Elbow, Katy B, James Blake and Tinie Tempah are all in the mercury mix as well.
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As widely predicted, Spotify launched in the US last week, creating a palpable stateside buzz three years after its European debut.Before crossing the streams and launching across the big pond, Spotify ensured that they had all majors and Indie representative Merlin on-board. The final major to get involved was Warner Music, seen to be the missing piece of the puzzle for some time now.
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More UK festivals have signed up to the ‘Attitude Is Everything’ campaign that aims to improve access for deaf and disabled people attending live music events.Working with artists, festival promoters venue operators and audiences, ‘Attitude Is Everything’ are putting a best practice charter in place across the UK. As a result of a partnership with the London Borough of Tower hamlets, every event that takes place at London’s Victoria Park will now adhere to this as an expected “event standard” of their gig or festival.
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The Government continues to show support for a Live Music Bill that would slash the red tape around legislation for smaller venues as the debate around entertainment licensing rages on at a national level.The Private members Bill proposed by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Clement Jones was debated at the end of last week and will now pass to the report stage, then requiring a third reading prior to scrutiny in the House of Commons from MPs.
13th Jul 2011
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Independent labels are currently celebrating fantastic Q2 sales and Adele looks set to hit the album top spot once again this week. As the year of the independent marches on, check out these exclusive videos of Beggars Group owner Martin Mills in conversation with Tony Wadsworth at Generator’s Know How event.
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As Michael Eavis declares that Glastonbury is “on the way out” and smaller outdoor events across the UK struggle to sell out, The Gen asks- Do you think that festivals are in terminal decline?
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