IMC MUSIC WORLD NEWS     The weekly music news bulletin of the International Music Council Produced by the International Music Council with the collaboration of the Music Council of Australia   Issue 28/2008  16 July 2008 Music World News is emailed to subscribers every week free of charge. It reaches more than 70 countries on all five continents. TO REGISTER, click here. To get access to the news stories, you must complete a very simple registration process. TO UNREGISTER, please click on the "reply" button with the words "unsubscribe" written on the top of the BODY TEXT. TO SUBMIT A NEWS STORY, click here. TO VIEW LAST WEEKS MUSIC WORLD NEWS, click here. SELECT YOUR PREFERRED LANGUAGE by clicking on the appropriate flag. All text available in that language will appear in that language. All text not available in that language will show in English or the language in which received. TO READ FULL DETAILS OF ANY STORY BELOW. To the side of each title, flags show the language in which the story is available. Click on your flag of choice. You will be taken to the story or to a hyperlink that takes you to the story. This bulletin can be read at any time by visiting http://www.mca.org.au/mwn_bulletin.php. CONTENTS. Music World News is divided into these sections. Scroll through or, if you wish, click on one of the sections to be taken straight to those stories. Music the artform and artists Music the industry Policy, Research and Politics Music education Technologies and media The rest

Posted: 15-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

Musicians from 5 African countries in a festival in Lomé for the expensiveness of life

Source: Agence de Presse Africaine

Posted: 15-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

2008 Kora All Africa music awards voting commences

The voting process of the 2008 Kora All Africa music awards - in which Oliver Mtukudzi is the only Zimbabwean entry - has began.

Source: The Herald (Harare)

Posted: 15-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

Mellencamp transitions from rocker to songwriter

Although John Mellencamp was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the veteran doesn't consider himself a rocker — at least not anymore.

Source: Yahoo! Music

Posted: 15-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

On your marks. Get set. Blow!

Flautists, trombonists and timpani-bashers from across the world gear up for the latest Olympic event - the Musicathlon.

Source: The Guardian (UK)

Posted: 15-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

Abba reunion: Don't hold your breath

Not even Meryl Streep's 'goddess'-like performance in Mamma Mia can tempt the Swedish pop legends out of retirement.

Source: The Guardian (UK)

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

The « La Cucalambeana » beyond national frontiers

Source: Cubart

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

Havana stages its XXIIIth Festival of Contemporary Music

Source: Cubart

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

Seattle Symphony concertmaster finally goes solo

A long and sometimes discordant episode at Seattle Symphony came to a close when the orchestra announced that Maria Larionoff had been named sole concertmaster.

Source: Seattle Times

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

Can't get it out of my head

I've never felt so paralyzed standing before my CD collection as the day I brought my newborn son home from the hospital and decided to play him his very first music. So much was at stake. Should it be modern or Baroque? Orchestral or opera? Would Mozart make him smarter? Would Schoenberg instill in him revolutionary tendencies? Would Wagner make him loathe his Jewish roots?

Source: The Boston Globe

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

The arts - and audiences - move (really)

The classical arts - which have safely huddled in posh theaters in all their stately, stationary dignity - are suddenly on the move, literally, in ways previously unimaginable.

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

A different class of diva

There are moments when an artist, seduced by the nuzzle of a radio mike, utters something so astonishing that the interviewer holds his breath and hopes to heaven that he has not misheard. ‘I got rid of my high notes,’ confides Natalie Dessay, in a backroom of the Theatre des Champs Elysees. ‘They were getting in the way.’

Source: La Scena Musicale

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

Why Joe Queenan is wrong about new classical music

It's fine for Joe Queenan to dislike contemporary music. But I wonder where he's been for the last 30 years.

Source: Guardian (The blog)

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the artform and artists

Composers turn up the darkness for "Knight" score

It's quite simple, actually. Composers Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard want to drive moviegoers insane. For their score for Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight," which opens July 18, the composers used as their inspiration the oppressive gloom of fictional Gotham and the unhinged character of the Joker, nemesis of Batman.

Source: Reuters

Posted: 15-07-2008 Music the industry

Labels up volume on vinyl releases to meet demand

It may have seemed like a fad at first, but the resurgence of vinyl is now turning into a nice niche business for the major labels. With EMI's announcement that it would reissue eight classic albums in the format, all four majors are now onboard the vinyl bandwagon.

Source: Reuters

Posted: 15-07-2008 Music the industry

Death Row Records auctioned for $24 million

Death Row Records, the hip-hop label that released seminal gangster rap albums by Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, has been auctioned for $24 million.

Source: Yahoo! Music

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the industry

The music industry—signing of a historic agreement between social partners

Christine Albanel, France’s Minister of Culture and Communications, is delighted at the signing of an historic agreement between social partners in the music industry.

Source: Diversity of Cultural Expressions News

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the industry

On music - forget CDs: what every band needs is a brand

Neil McCormick explains why recorded music sales are just one component in a commercial equation.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the industry

CD boxed sets face uncertain future

Have boxed sets lost their commercial luster, or can the configuration still shine when managed properly?

Source: Yahoo! News

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the industry

La Scala strike cancels 'Boheme'

A strike at La Scala has forced the opera house to cancel the opening performance of Puccini’s “La Boheme,” produced by Franco Zeffirelli. The next two perfs have also been called off.

Source: Variety

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the industry

Music industry insiders find upside in album leaks

During the first week of July, Nas' controversial untitled album leaked onto the Internet ahead of its July 15 release date via Def Jam.

Source: Billboard

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the industry

IODA expands Latin music distribution network

IODA broadens portfolio of Latin labels and digital retailers, bringing more independent Latin music to more music fans around the world.

Source: mi2n

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music the industry

EC judges refer SonyBMG merger back to lower court

Thousands of music SMEs were surprised by the decision of the highest European court in Luxembourg, that the lower court needs to re-assess its previous judgement annulling the EC's first approval of the SonyBMG merger decision in 2006, in IMPALA's favour.The lower court remains free to conclude that the Commission got it wrong, in which case the merger approval decision would be annulled all over again.

Source: mi2n

Posted: 15-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

Choral singing makes you happy: survey

Singing regularly with others makes you happier, according to Australian research which suggests choristers have a better quality of life. The survey of more than 1,100 choral singers in Australia, Germany and the UK is the latest to point to the benefits of music on health. It found that while people who join singing groups tend to be less healthy than the average person, they are in fact happier.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Posted: 15-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

No release for singer Teddy Afro

Singer Teddy Afro is still imprisoned after he appeared in court again on 4 July 2008. “This is a political trial, where the authorities are framing a popular singer.

Source: Freemuse

Posted: 15-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

18 months in prison for 'insulting the president'

The popular Yemeni singer and performer Fahd al-Qarni is said to have insulted the president and the ruling party, and for this he recieved a sentence of one year and a half in prison as well as a fine of 500.000 Yemeni Riyals (2,500 US dollars) by the primary court in Taiz. The sentence also said that he must give a grant never to sing again.

Source: Freemuse

Posted: 15-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

Singer taken to court in chains

One of Cameroon’s best-known singers was in chains when he was brought to a court room on 9 July 2008, accused of causing anti-government riots in February. Lapiro de Mbanga’s case, however, was adjourned to 23 July. Another arrested musician, Joe La Conscience, was released on 16 June.

Source: Freemuse

Posted: 15-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

Music as torture may incur royalty fees

Could artists like David Gray, whose music has been used to torture Guantánamo Bay terror suspects, get performance fees?

Source: The Guardian (UK)

Posted: 16-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

Cuba pays tribute to culture of North American people

Source: Cubart

Posted: 16-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

Battle for radio royalties gains momentum

Chances appear slim that Congress will vote this year on legislation requiring terrestrial radio stations to pay artists and labels performance royalties to play their recordings.

Source: Yahoo! News

Posted: 16-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

Second grant to symphony OK'd

The Ohio Arts Council has provisionally approved the second year of a sustainability grant for the troubled Columbus Symphony.

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

Posted: 16-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

Gray's warning on 'torture' music

Singer David Gray has warned that US interrogators playing loud music as a form of "torture" - including his own song Babylon - was no laughing matter.

Source: BBC News

Posted: 16-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

EU says music collecting societies must compete

Societies that collect music copyright fees for artists from the Rolling Stones to the Arctic Monkeys must end deals to stop competing against each other across borders, the European Commission said.

Source: Reuters

Posted: 16-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

Choral singing makes you happy: survey

Singing regularly with others makes you happier, according to Australian research which suggests choristers have a better quality of life.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Posted: 16-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

Japan to scrap iPod copyright fee

giving in to opposition from electronics makers, officials said.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Posted: 16-07-2008 Policy, Research and Politics

A real-life orphan works dilemma

Richard Esguerra calls attention to a real-life example of the orphan works problem in a recent New York Times story. A history teacher and part-time book publisher wanted to use two photographs from the archives of the Brooklyn Historical Society -- and was willing to pay for the rights to use them. But the Brooklyn Historical Society refused his offer, because the copyright status of the photographs is unclear.

Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation website

Posted: 15-07-2008 Music education

Brazil: Law brings music education back to schools

Brazilians are celebrating a very important decision of the National Congress, who has recently approved a Law that brings music education back to schools after 38 years. Since 1971, Brazilian school children only had arts education as a compulsory art subject, where one teacher was teaching all the arts in a few hours per week. During that time, only few schools, mostly private offered music education as part of the school education.

Source: International Society for Music Education

Posted: 15-07-2008 Music education

New invention makes music studies easier

A simple new device allows music students to quickly locate the scale or mode they are looking for. The Decodamode®Scale and Mode Decoder is a simple to use reference tool that gives access to 264 scales/modes. It has received glowing endorsements from leading musicians and music educators and is now available to the general public and educational institutions.

Source: Jazz Queensland

Posted: 15-07-2008 Music education

A classical education

Teaching music has been a lifelong work for Nehama Patkin, and now she's taking it to a bigger stage.

Source: The Age

Posted: 16-07-2008 Music education

Pop goes the traditional music lesson

Music lessons were once confined to the living room, where parents hounded and their children begrudgingly practiced a classical repertoire. Today, younger and younger kids are picking up electric instruments, assembling into rock 'n' roll bands, and performing for audiences soon after they start playing. Influenced by the music their parents love, not to mention video games and the preteen artists they see on television, kids are asking to rock and getting the chance.

Source: The Boston Globe

Posted: 15-07-2008 Technologies and media

Magazine strikes a chord with classical music lovers

It is a magazine for classical music lovers with a difference in taste and content. Classic, which was launched last month, has got many wondering if it is a Kenyan publication. Yes it is. It is a publication of The Art of Music.

Source: Business Daily

Posted: 15-07-2008 Technologies and media

Class D amplifiers are shrinking and greening your electronics

Technology has democratized the music industry in many obvious ways -- notice how every band, regardless of stature, has a MySpace page? But one of technology's more subtle effects has been to make our sound systems smaller, lighter and greener.

Source: Wired

Posted: 15-07-2008 Technologies and media

Video-game news: Metallica's 'Guitar Hero' album

Activision's "Guitar Hero World Tour" is one of this year's most eagerly anticipated games, but the company has big news for fans who can't wait for that: Metallica will be releasing its next album, "Death Magnetic," as a "Guitar Hero III" download on the same day that the CD arrives in stores.

Source: Yahoo! Music

Posted: 15-07-2008 Technologies and media

Sweet: Pandora's streaming radio App for iPhone

With the tech world focused on the launch of the second-generation iPhone and Apple's App Store, which will allow iPhone users to download and install applications for the first time without jailbreaking their phone (cracking it so that unauthorized apps can be installed), Pandora has unleashed an iPhone version of their interactive internet radio service that moves beyond what has previously been possible in the portable radio arena.

Source: Wired

Posted: 15-07-2008 Technologies and media

Guns N' Roses to premiere track via Rock Band 2

The band will debut the song Shackler's Revenge on the music video game when it launches in September. We're not sure if Axl will fire members of his band right there in your living room ...

Source: The Guardian (UK)

Posted: 15-07-2008 Technologies and media

Radiohead's camera trick

Cameras? Radiohead don't need your stinkin' cameras. Last year Radiohead let fans download their album without paying a thing, and now they've shot a music video that doesn't use a single traditional camera.

Source: The Guardian (UK)

Posted: 15-07-2008 Technologies and media

Last.fm to help unsigned bands

Music website Last.fm has launched a new programme that ensures unsigned acts receive the same royalty privileges as those signed to major labels.

Source: The Guardian (UK)

Posted: 16-07-2008 Technologies and media

Music instruments for the gadget freak

In 1919, Leon Theremin, an electronics wizard who had migrated from the Soviet Union, created one of the simplest musical instruments in existence, all of two metal rods protruding from a base. It didn't have to be touched to elicit positively ethereal sounds: spaceship noises invented before anyone knew what a spaceship was.

Source: International Herald Tribune

Posted: 16-07-2008 Technologies and media

iCame, iSaw, iPod

Most people consider digital music - that is, tracks stored in a computer-friendly file format - is somehow inferior to what comes out of a CD. This was certainly true in the early days of the digital music revolution. The first MP3 players had very little memory and internet connections were exceptionally slow, so a digital track had to be relatively small. Small files could be downloaded faster and you could fit more onto your portable music player but the music wasn't substantially better than you'd get from a clear FM radio signal.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Posted: 16-07-2008 Technologies and media

ReverbNation registers 200,000th band in first twenty months

ReverbNation, the leading Marketing and Promotion Platform technology for Musicians, Labels, Managers, and Venues, signed up its 200,000th Artist last week, adding 100,000 in the last six months alone. In addition, over 6,000 Labels and Managers have created profiles to promote themselves and their rosters, and more than 2,500 Venues and Clubs are using the 'venue tools' to help pack their shows, grow their fan bases, and integrate promotional efforts with musicians. To date, Artists and Labels have posted nearly 700,000 full-length songs to the site.

Source: mi2n

Posted: 15-07-2008 The rest

Panned by reviewer, then told to go bankrupt

A British composer was told to go bankrupt after he unsuccessfully tried to sue the London Evening Standard for libel. Keith Burstein ran up legal costs of £67,000 defending a test-case libel action against Associated Newspapers, publishers of the Standard, over a critical review of one of his operas.

Source: The Independent (UK)

Posted: 15-07-2008 The rest

Free rock tickets! (If you do community work, that is...)

'RockCorps' scheme imported from the US will give seat at gig in return for four hours of volunteering.

Source: The Independent (UK)

Posted: 15-07-2008 The rest

Festivals overshadowed by deaths and violence

T in the Park, Oxegen and Norway's Kvinesdal festival all report tragic incidents.

Source: The Guardian (UK)