As we reported yesterday, the terms of Pink Floyd’s 1999 contract with EMI that predated iTunes and other musical download retailers, included a clause stipulating that their songs could not be sold outside the context of their original albums. The band saw the sale of single album tracks by EMI via iTunes as a violation of this contract term, and duly sued their label. A London judge today, dismissing EMI’s arguments that the contract only covered physical and not digital releases sided with the band, not only ordering that the label cease to sell the band’s songs individually, but also that they pay in the region of $60,000 for the band’s legal fees, whilst the court assessed what the level of additional damages that will also be due should be. There is also apparently the question of determining the amount of digital royalties to be paid to the band, due the 1999 lack of foresight of mass consumption of music through legal downloads. This will no doubt amount to a huge sum, as only The Beatles’ back catalog is worth more than Pink Floyd’s.
The Archives
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Bits & Pieces
Pink Floyd Sue Label EMI Over Individual Track Downloads
03.10.10It’s not often you can get Roger Waters and David Gilmour to agree on something. But apparently, if it involves suing their label, you can. The Floyd are reportedly taking EMI to court over their 1999 contract, which indicated the band’s songs could not be isolated and sold outside the context of their original albums. However, as a quick visit to iTunes will reveal, downloaders can bag individual Pink Floyd tracks, outside of the context of full albums, which has prompted the suit. The band’s lawyer Robert Howe argued at the first hearing of the case that “Pink Floyd [are] well-known for performing seamless pieces. Many of the songs blend into each other,” adding that the 1999 contract “expressly prohibits” taking the songs out of context. In riposte, EMI insisted that the band’s clause about separating the songs only applies to their physical releases, and as it predates digital music services like iTunes, the clause doesn’t apply to downloads. Given that the band are the label’s second highest grossing artists behind The Beatles, you can’t help but feel the balance of bargaining power to lie with them. Still, with the case in its infancy we’ll have to wait and see how this one develops. We will, of course, keep you posted.
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Bits & Pieces
Danger Mouse and EMI Make Up, Dark Night of the Soul Set for June Release
03.03.10It looks as though Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse and EMI have managed to resolve their latest dispute over the producer’s Dark Night of the Soul album. The long running dispute between the parties stems back to The Grey Album — Danger Mouse’s mash-up of The Beatles’ The White Album with Jay-Z’s Black Album — and the lack of resolution threatened to prevent his latest album from ever seeing the light of day in legitimate form. That Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous, EMI artist featured as a prominent player on Dark Night of the Soul, had angered the label, who threatened to sue if the album was released. But, all the nastiness is behind them now, with Danger Mouse stating that, “The problems of last year are last year, so hopefully it will be out soon in June or something like that.”
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Bits & Pieces
Interview Footage of John Lennon Used in Citroen TV Advertisement
03.03.10What is it about rock stars and their songs that car manufacturers like so much? Is it that they tend to lend authenticity to what more often than not these days is a very boring product? In the latest ‘sell out’ debate on the subject, Sean Ono Lennon responded to criticism directed at mother Yoko’s licensing of his father John’s image to car manufacturer Citroen. Essentially, the piece of footage taken from his Beatles days shows Lennon encouraging the general public to be more creative and forward looking (presumably not to record entire albums of 50s rock ‘n roll standards then, eh?) followed by a slick 360 degree view of Citroen’s new car, which is apparently ‘Not Retro’. OK then. Defending his mother via Twitter, Yoko Ono insisted the footage was apparently licensed not for money, but in an attempt “… to keep dad in public consciousness. No new LPs, so TV ad is exposure to young,” adding, “Look, the TV ad was not for money. It’s just hard to find new ways to keep dad in the new world. Not many things as effective as TV.” Later, and once he had actually watched the ad, he added “Having just seen ad I realize why people are mad,” he wrote. “But intention was not financial, was simply wanting to keep him out there in the world.” So that’s that I guess.
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Bits & Pieces
EMI to Keep Abbey Road After All?
02.22.10As we reported last week, stories began circulating that EMI was planning on selling its legendary North-West London studios Abbey Road, home to most of The Beatles recording sessions as well as those for Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Now, after apparent protest from various quarters, the label is now said to be looking for “financial help to save it”. In the light of the huge and widely publicized debts the label currently has, the offer of “in excess of £30 million” that they reportedly received last year must have been pretty tempting. Instead the label is hoping it can “revitalize” the studio, one potential plan being to open it to the public while keeping it going as an active recording studio. To make the financing work, EMI has been in talks with “an unspecified number of outside parties.”
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Bits & Pieces
EMI Plans to Sell Iconic Abbey Road Studios
02.16.10It’s pretty clear to most that things aren’t what they used to be for the major labels. There’s no more driving limousines into swimming pools and bathing in baked beans for bands these days. Label shareholders get upset if their star performers don’t deliver an album in time for Christmas, and the proliferation of illegal downloading has left them feeling like someone short circuited the security gates at the warehouse. It’s in this climate that EMI has announced that it is to sell the jewel in the crown of its recording studios, Abbey Road. The studio and the crosswalk outside made famous by The Beatles, is, according to the Financial Times, to be sold off by the label due to the spiraling costs of keeping it running; cash that EMI could really use to plug other holes in its business. The FT could only speculate over the future of the iconic brand itself, and couldn’t confirm whether the label will sell the name along with the property, but did manage to pull in a quote from a London media lawyer confirming what we all suspected, namely that “the brand is worth more than the building.” So, perhaps don’t be surprised if you stumble across an ‘Abbey Road Café’, replete with crosswalk, the next time you trudge bleary eyed through an international airport terminal…
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Concert Reviews
Tegan and Sara @ Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier – 01.18.10
01.24.10Who’s the only act who manages to compact endearing and punkish in the same performance? Tegan and Sara categorically lived up to their reputation when they played at the grand Place des Arts’ Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. By now, this sister duo is integral to Canadian music, and seeing them is kind of a necessity, a rite of passage. (more…)
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Bits & Pieces
New Jimi Hendrix Album to see Early 2010 Release
01.11.10Persistent re-emptying of the vaults all too often makes for the tedious task of wading through hours of meandering jams and unfinished songs. Although those of Jimi Hendrix have certainly not been spared the ‘warts and all’ treatment, the astounding quality of at least some of what has been released since the singer’s death in 1970 may account for renewed excitement at the news of the release of an apparently new track. Valleys of Neptune, the result of a session for what would have been the follow up to 1968’s Electric Ladyland, is set to be released as a single on February 2nd, and will be followed by a compilation of the same on March 9th. The compilation will feature some covers and classics that will be familiar to most Hendrix fans, although notably, will be accompanied by four further unreleased tracks; including one culled from the Axis:Bold as Love sessions. Speaking of her brother’s love of recording, Janie Hendrix, the custodian of Jimi’s legacy since his family gained control of his work in 1994, described him as “at home in the studio” and that the new tracks would offer fans a “deep insight into his mastery of the recording process”. In addition to these releases, 2010 will see the re-release of the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s three studio albums, along with 1997’s First Rays of the New Rising Sun, a posthumous album that will also see a re-issue. All will be accompanied by extensive bonus video footage directed by acclaimed The Beatles Anthology director Bob Smeaton.
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Bits & Pieces
Jackson Memorabilia Brings in $2 Million at Hard Rock Auction
11.23.09New York’s Hard Rock Cafe hosted an auction of iconic rock and roll memorabilia this past weekend, where items belonging to The Beatles, Buddy Holly, Nirvana, and Michael Jackson were placed upon the block. The story of the auction, which was estimated to bring in $120 000, was the remarkably high prices paid for the King of Pop’s swag. On the strength of the Jackson item bids, the auction raked in more than $2 million. Rhinestone studded glove? $420 000. This is the glove he was sporting when he pulled off the Moonwalk for the first time. I’m not positive, but I think that might be the most paid for a left hand glove in the history of gloves. Jackson’s fedora from the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards was thought to garner attention in the 6 to 8 thousand dollar range. The gavel fell after a winning bid of $73, 800. Michael Jackson sketches of Charlie Chaplin and Mickey Mouse (in Jackson’s jacket from the Bad album cover) also sold for at high prices.
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Bits & Pieces
Starr and McCartney Reunite on Y Not
11.20.09A Beatles reunion is in the works, as the surviving members of the seminal band Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney are getting together to play on Starr’s new album Y Not. McCartney is picking up the lead guitar duties on the lead off single Walk With Me, and features on Peace Dream playing bass. Ringo lauds his former bandmate, saying of the collaboration; “That was all Paul McCartney, and there could be nothing better. He’s a genius.” Y Not is due January 12th, and features Ben Harper and Joss Stone, in addition to Sir Paul.
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Bits & Pieces
David Lynch Filming Tale of The Beatles’ Guru Mahesh In India
11.18.09India will be hosting one of the more interesting filmmakers of the times, as David Lynch heads out east to make a new film about The Beatles’ mediation guru Maharishi Mahesh. The ‘60s saw the Maharshi emerge as a pop culture icon, as well as a beacon of spiritual enlightenment, following an influx of Western celebrities, including The Beatles, began to attend his seminars in India. Lynch said of his upcoming film, “It won’t be a so-called David Lynch film, really; it will be about Maharishi and the knowledge he brought out. It’ll hold a lot of abstractions.” Talk right now is that the project will be a documentary. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi died in 2008, but Lynch is hopeful that insight into the man and the guru will be provided through interviews with a 97 year old friend of the deceased holyman’s. No word on whether or not any of The Beatles will be involved in the project.
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CD Reviews
Say Anything – Say Anything
11.07.09Nothing says reboot, reinvention, or any of the other ‘re’ words associated with pop music quite like the mid-career self-titled album. The Beatles did it. Fleetwood Mac did it. Metallica did it. Heck, Weezer can’t stop doing it. And now, L.A.’s Say Anything has gone ahead and done it. (more…)
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Bits & Pieces
The Beatles Offering USB Drive Chock-O-Block Full Of Tunes
11.05.09Pony up $279.99 at The Beatles’ online store on December 7th (in the UK) or 8th (over here in North America); just in time for Christmas, you’ll receive an apple shaped USB drive with September’s Beatles reissues. Apple Corps and EMI have put their heads together on this one to bring us all 14 reissued albums, as well 13 mini-docs about the releases. There will only be 30,000 of these guys out there, so if you’re interested, move quickly… If this is not your idea of the perfect gift, there is always the vinyl option. On November 7th, a limited edition box set commemorating the 40th anniversary of Abbey Road is being released by the good people of Record Store Day fame. The vinyl comes with a T-shirt and poster, emblazoned with the cover of the Come Together/Something single. There are only 5000 of these out there, and word is they are only going to be made available to the indie record stores of discerning taste…
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Bits & Pieces
Abbey Road’s 40th Anniversary
09.25.09Get out the calendars folks as September 26th 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Abbey Road, the last album the famed Beatles recorded together. And mop top fans will be glad to hear that even after 40 years Abbey Road remains historical in The Beatles saga as well as the fabric of rock history, and with the recent remasters release, salivating bug heads can enjoy Abbey Road in its most impressive form. Side A classics like Come Together, Something and Oh! Darling are masterful. And then there’s that Side B… Moog synthesizers, medley, Here Comes the Sun. As John Mendelsohn wrote in his 1969 Rolling Stone review of Abbey Road, “That The Beatles can unify seemingly countless musical fragments and lyrical doodlings into a uniformly wonderful suite, as they’ve done on side two, seems potent testimony that no, they’ve far from lost it, and no, they haven’t stopped trying. No, on the contrary, they’ve achieved here the closest thing yet to Beatles freeform, fusing more diverse intriguing musical and lyrical ideas into a piece that amounts to far more than the sum of those ideas.” Well said John. Happy 40th, Abbey Road.
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Bits & Pieces
Legendary Session Drummer Bobby Graham Dies At 69
09.16.09Spending his final moments at Isabel Hospice in Welwyn Garden City, session drummer Bobby Graham passed away on September 14th following a four month battle with stomach cancer. The notable beat keeper wowed listeners time and time again with his work on Petula Clark’s Downtown, Dusty Springfield’s I Only Want To Be With You, Them’s Gloria, and working with The Kinks playing on tracks such as You Really Got Me and All Day And All Of The Night. The 69-year-old drummer was greatly revered by musicians and fans alike as even Brian Epstein approached Graham to replace Pete Best in The Beatles, however Graham had turned down the offer due to the band’s still undeveloped success at the time. The Kinks’ producer Shel Talmy commented on Graham calling him “the greatest drummer the UK has ever produced”. He is survived by his wife Belinda, son Shawn and his brother Ian. R.I.P Bobby Graham.
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Bits & Pieces
Rare Photos Of The Beatles, David Bowie & The Rolling Stones
09.02.09Slated to go on display late 2009 Beatles to Bowie: the 60s exposed photo exhibition will boast rare photos from gargantuan acts the likes of The Beatles, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, The Who and Cliff Richard… just to name a “few”. The exhibit will run from October 15th 2009 to January 24th 2010 at London’s National Portrait Gallery. Organizers have said that more than 100 of the selected photos have never been publicly viewed.
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Bits & Pieces
Apple Press Conference To Reveal Big Things
09.01.09Its September again kiddies and Steve Jobs, the daddy of salivating new gizmos, is gearing up to present Apple’s newest gadgets and software at their annual media event. If you’ve received an invite to the prestigious press conference than you’ve probably read the tagline “It’s only rock & roll, but we like it.” This September 9th conference is one for the books as it is rumored to mark the long awaited arrival of the remastered The Beatles catalog to itunes, as well as the release of the official The Beatles: Rock Band and of course a preview of the new line of ipods. If you didn’t receive a golden ticket then keep your eye on the interweb for the days unveilings, they should be tasty morsels for the digi-geek in all of us.
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Bits & Pieces
Yellow Submarine To Get A 3D Facelift!
08.20.09As if the list of reasons to use recreational drugs wasn’t already arm’s length, the 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine based on The Beatles is slated to be re-made as a 3D film! The new project boasts Oscar winning director Robert Zemeckis at the helm who has announced he will use the same 3D technology as used in his upcoming 3D movie A Christmas Carol. The film’s release date has been tentatively penned for 2012 and diehard fans of The Beatles can be sure that the legendary rock foursome’s music will be littered throughout the animation.
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Bits & Pieces
Phil Spector Is Headed To The Clink
04.14.09On February 3rd, 2003 Phil Spector’s limo driver placed a call to police reporting a dead body at the 68-year-old NYC producer’s Pyrenees Castle, in Alhambra, California. Spector had met the young Lana Clarkson at the House of Blues and after sharing a drink with Spector at his home, Clarkson was found shot in the mouth with the murder weapon left by her side. (more…)
