Monkees Davy Jones dies

The Monkees' frontman Davy Jones has died at the age of 66. TMZ reports that the Daydream Believer singer passed away at Martin Memorial Hospital in Florida on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack.

Festival funds boost charities worldwide

We all know that the Glastonbury Festival annually donates six figure sums to Oxfam, WaterAid and Greenpeace, but they are not alone! The organisers of the eco-friendly 80,000 capacity Bonnaroo Festival in the US is celebrating reaching $5 million in donations, with recipients including the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, Music Cares, Head Count and Rock The Earth. And the charitable organisation behind the 75,000 Roskilde festival in Denmark has donated $45,000 to farming projects in Sudan this year, part of total donations of $23 million dating back to 1972 when the festival began. Other recipients have included the Danish Red Cross and humanitarian aid projects through Danish Church Aid.

Spotify gets decks appeal

Spotify has announced that users will be able to stream music seamlessly, cross-fading tracks giving gapless streaming. The update will be available for the 3 million users who subscribe to the service and not users who rely on the more limited free advertising funded service.

Channel 4 blasts open secondary ticketing market practices

The UK's Channel 4 has been able to broadcast an expose of Viagogo and Seatwave's business practices, despite a legal challenge by Viagogo which was thrown out by the High Court. When it comes to where the tickets came from for the secondary market, SJM, Phil McIntyre, MCD, Metropolis, Live Nation and 3A were all named as alleged providers of 'allocations' to Viagogo - providing tickets for events including the V Festival, Strictly Come Dancing. Coldplay, X-factor and in particular Take That - whose tickets had an average 100% mark up. Even Channel's own charity Comedy Gala was apparently on sale on secondary market places! But in particular the programme alleged that "Power sellers" (errrmmmm, touts) and "professional sellers" (ditto) provide allocations, and tickets were also acquired by as Viagogo's own staff using their own (multiple) credit cards registered to different addresses to secure (or 'harvest') tickets

The programme, titled 'The Great Ticket Scandal' involved secret filming, and busted wide open the idea that the sites are 'fan to fan' facilities, alleging that it was the professional 'brokers' who list over two thirds of the tickets on Seatwave - in a billion pound market that includes sport, classical music and even the National Gallery's Leonardo da Vinci exhibition and the Last Night of the Proms.

MP Sharon Hodgson was interviewed and suggested that legislation was needed to regulate the market.

In the USA, Ticketnews.com reports that Live Nation Entertainment may face steep fines after a possible violation of Ontario's anti-scalping law. On Feb. 13, tickets for Madonna's concert in Ottawa's Scotiabank Park were sold out within 21 minutes of being placed on-sale. However on resale websites such as Kijiji.ca, however, tickets remained available. On Live Nation Entertainment's subsidiary site, VIPNation.com, Madonna fans could purchase a concert ticket for $1500 despite its $350 face value.

BRITS 2012 WINNERS

the BRITS are done an dusted with a rather predictable set of results and a slightly drab and disorganised show, but here the winners are anyway:

British Male Solo Artist - Ed Sheeran
British Female Solo Artist - Adele
British Breakthrough Act - Ed Sheeran
British Group - Coldplay
British Single One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
Mastercard British Album of the Year Adele - 21
International Male Solo Artist - Bruno Mars
International Female Solo Artist - Rihanna
International Group - Foo Fighters
International Breakthrough Act - Lana Del Rey
Outstanding Contribution Award - Blur
Critics Choice Award - Emeli Sande

The Brit Awards 2012 had the highest TV ratings the show has had since 2005. Traffic to its website was more impressive, doubling that of the 2011 awards, enhanced by the events first-ever app.

Blur confirmed for Olympics close

Hot on the heels of their Brits performance and Award, Blur have now been announced as headliners for the Hype Park Olympic ‘closing’ concert on August 12th along with New Order and the Specials as part of the BT London Live series of events. And Blur guitarist Graham Coxon said he would refuse to play the gig if sound limits were reduced, as a protest at ‘people being boring’. The concerts are on, although with some reduced capacities and noise monitoring, but still much to fan’s and Live Nations’s delight, But what’s this, an article by Simon Jenkins in the Evening Standard saying “Parks are meant to be for pleasure and not for business” attacking the events in Hyde Park and the fact St James park will be closed is favour of a few ‘bikini clad Olympic family” plutocrats (for the beach Volleyball by the way). He goes on, saying that when Westminster Council suggested noise limits and reduced capacities the entertainment industry responded with “whinging and blackmail”, quoting a certain “John Diggings” from “Solo Productions” who called the sound restriction “ludicrous” ??? Errrm John WHO???? And surely this is not the same Simon Jenkins who championed that monument of all bores – the Millennium Dome – which wasted nearly £800 million of public money at the end of the last century - now thankfully replaced by the far more exciting (and loved) albeit rather expensive O2 Arena. Entertainment industry whinging? Misinformed journalist whinging more like! Hyde Park will be provide great live music in a one-off Olympic year - Surely something to cheer?

Hyde Park concerts get green light

Westminster Council has agreed that Live Nation’s series of nine Hyde Park concerts scheduled for July 2012 including shows from Brice Springsteen and Madonna to go ahead, but with only four allowed to have capacities of 65,000 after numerous complaints from local residents. The other five concerts will be limited to 50,000 people. The decision also means that the planned 18 free events around the London Olympic,s in Hyde Park, Victoria park and Trafalgar Square will also be able to go ahead – Live Nation had said that free events depended on the Hyde Park concerts. But Westminster have set strict noise limits of 75 dB measured in the adjoining Park Lane and breaches would result in a review of events in 2013. Live Nation’s John Probyn who had previously said that "if the Hyde Park licence has any new conditions like reducing the noise level, capacity or number of events, not pnly do we lose our regular concerts but Olympic events to" said the decision was a ‘fantastic result”

Lambert joins Queen for Knebworth

Queen have announced a headline slot at Sonisphere 2012 in the UK. with Adam Lambert filling in for the much missed Freddie Mercury. The festival takes place 6th-8th July at Knebworth. Kiss and Faith No More are also confirmed.

SESAC for sale?

It seems US collection music society SESAC is for sale if. The owners of the smallest of the USA’s three publishing rights body hired bankers at Allen & Co and Goldman Sachs to actively pursue a sale. The asking price is reportedly $500 million, somewhat lower than prices previously suggested by the current owners. Unlike BMI and ASCAP, SESAC is a profit-making company. It represents a smaller roster of artists but this includes a number of important American songwriters, including Bob Dylan.

Festival crime conference next week

Reading, Leeds and Latitude promoter Festival Republic will host the fourth annual conference focusing on combating crime at British music festivals next week. It will be the fourth year that promoters of many of the UK's music festivals have come together with law enforcement agencies to share intelligence, discuss best practice and "communicate a strong and cohesive message to criminals that their actions will not be tolerated". Festival Republic boss Melvin Benn will chair the event alongside Chief Superintendent Andy Battle of West Yorkshire Police on Wednesday 22nd February and the conference will include reps from the Glastonbury Festival, Electric Picnic, Bestival, Rockness, Download, Isle of Wight, T In The Park, Womad, Creamfields, Secret Garden Party, Hackney Big Weekend, Great Escape, Sonisphere and Wireless festivals.

GREEN EVENTS & INNOVATIONS CONFERENCE

The second Green Events & Innovations Conference will take place at London's Southbank Centre on Friday March 16th, hosted by A Greener Festival and Bucks New University, supported by the Association of Independent Festivals. Confirmed panels include minimising water use at festivals, sustainable food & catering at events and the economics of sustainable events - as well as updates on waste, recycling, energy use and new innovations from the festival and event business, from other cultural industries notably TV and film, and updates on the Greener Festival Award scheme for 2012.

Last year's hugely successful conference was attended by delegates and panellists from festivals including Leeds & Reading Festivals, Truck and Wood, NozStock, Sunrise Celebration, Glastonbury, Waveform, Isle of Wight, Sonisphere, Lounge on the Farm, Hadra Trance Festival, Kendal Calling, Splendour, End of the Road and Roskilde; delegates and panellists from universities including De Montfort, Leeds Metropolitan, Sheffield Hallam, Bucks New University, Manchester Metropolitan, Dundee, London Metropolitan, Gloucestershire, and Glamorgan University: suppliers included delegates and panellists from WaterMills, Frank Water, Robertson Taylor Insurance brokers, Firefly Solar, Network Recycling, Big Green Coach, Liftshare, Buffalo Power, Innovation Power, Eco-Action Partnership and Eco-charge Technology; and representatives from Julies Bicycle and the Association of Independent Festivals.

The day runs from 10.00am to 18.00 and costs £75 per delegate. Students and AIF members have a discount rate of £50.00. Please note to reduce cost this does NOT include lunch but there are plenty of cafes, bars and restaurants at the SouthBank Centre.

Registration at Bucks New Uni open now

SOCA takes music blog offline

RnBXclusive.com, the British music blog that posted, amongst other things, alleged links to unlicensed music files, has been shut down by the Serious Organised Crime Agency. The website currently hosts a SOCA statement that says the UK government agency has taken control of the domain, and that the individuals behind the website have been "arrested for fraud".

Private funeral for Whitney, red faces for Sony

A private funeral for Whitney Houston will take place this Saturday in the singer's hometown of Newark at the modest Baptist church where she first sang in public. It will be an invite-only occasion

Elsewhere, sales of the late singer's work have boomed since her death. According to the Official Charts Company, 20 Houston songs should be in the UK Top 200 this weekend, seven in the Top 40, with her cover of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' charting the highest. More embarrassingly, Sony Music in the UK have put down two price hikes in the wake of the death to ‘employee error’: the price for Whitney's 'Ultimate Collection' rose on iTunes UK from £4.99 to £7.99 and 'Whitney: The Greatest Hits', also went up in price temporarily, from £7.99 to £9.99.

Myspace bounces back

Myspace has announced receiving more than 1 million new sign-ups in the last month, which it said is as a result of the company’s recently launched Myspace Music Player. This brings the service’s monthly users to 25 million. Myspace has an “underappreciated” portfolio of 42 million songs – considerably more than competitors like Spotify (15 million tracks globally), Rdio (12 million) and Pandora (nearly 1 million). Myspace didn’t disclose the churn rate on those registrations, but comScore backs up the positive implications with a report that Myspace traffic rose in January. The revamped Myspace player has free unlimited on-demand listening, personalized radio modes, a recommendation engine and integration with Facebook.

Adele triumphs at Grammys

Adele triumphed at the Grammys, picking up six awards, including the Big Three: song and record of the year for “Rolling in the Deep,” and album of the year for “21.” Earlier in the night, she thanked “the doctors who brought my voice back” at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Against the backdrop of Whitney Houston’s shock death on Saturday, numerous tributes were paid to the star: We’ve had a death in our family,” host LL Cool J said. He offered “a prayer for a woman we loved, for a fallen sister.” And Jennifer Hudson performed a stark version of “I Will Always Love You” . The ceremony, opened by a song from Bruce Springsteen that brought a clapping Paul McCartney out of his seat , had other big winners including The Foo Fighters’ who picked up five Grammys and Kanye West had a great night with four victories, but didn’t show up to claim any trophies. US dance DJ Skrillex won three prizes, while double winners included folk duo The Civil Wars, country star Taylor Swift and gospel singer Kirk Franklin. More here http://www.grammy.com/

Whitney Houston dies

Whitney Houston has died, aged just 48. The singer, who had been troubled by drug abuse for many years, was found in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel by her bodyguard, and despite attempts to resuscitate her, she was pronounced dead at 3:55pm local time on Saturday afternoon. She was due to perform at a pre-Grammy award party in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Whilst police said they were investigating the death, the Hotel was not considered a crime scene. Among Houston's hits were How Will I Know, Saving All My Love for You and I Will Always Love You. She won multiple Grammys including album and record of the year and her success carried her beyond music to movies like The Bodyguard.

Stones in frame for London Olympics close

The Rolling Stones are a rumoured headliner for a closing concert to celebrate the 2012 London Olympic games, but in Hyde Park rather than the Olympic Stadium as it seems Mick Jagger is reluctant to cede artistic control to Danny Boyle who is in charge of the stadium ceremonies. The concert, promoted by Live Nation, is also rumoured to have Blur and Adele as possible performers. Sir Mick is keen to be involved in the Olympics in the band's 50th year, his father Joe was an Olympic rowing official in 1948, but was swayed by a negative memory from Bryan Adams who played the Vancouver Winter Olympics. 14 days of free events in Hyde Park will be 'book ended' by two 80,000 paid for concerts. The announcements come on the back of BT being confirmed as £2.5 million sponsor of the Olympics.

Live Nation told reporters "The line-up for the London Live 2012 Celebration Concerts as reported in the Evening Standard is not what we at Live Nation will be announcing soon and is based on unsubstantiated speculation".

Pollstar Awards out too!

The 23rd annual Pollstar Awards have honoured some of the US and international concert industry’s major players, and the winners at the Club Nokia in LA were announced as:

Major Tour of the Year – Lady Gaga
Most Creative Stage Production – Roger Waters
Best New Touring Artist – Adele
Red Rocks Award for Small Outdoor Venue (non-touring) – Greek Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue – Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles, CA)
Arena of the Year – Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)
Theatre of the Year – Ryman Auditorium (Nashville, TN)
Nightclub of the Year – Bowery Ballroom (New York, NY)
Best New Major Concert Venue – Austin City Limits Live At The Moody Theater (Austin, TX)
Facility Executive of the Year – John Bolton (BOK Center, Tulsa, OK)
Major Music Festival of the Year (non-touring) – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (Indio, CA)
Music Festival of the Year (non-touring) – The Hangout Music and Beach Festival (Gulf Shores, AL)
Bobby Brooks Award for Agent of the Year – Jonathan Levine (Paradigm)
Third Coast Booking Agent of the Year – Scott Clayton (Creative Artists Agency)
Independent Booking Agency of the Year – The Windish Agency
Booking Agency of the Year – Creative Artists Agency
Personal Manager of the Year – John Silva (Foo Fighters, Beck, Ryan Adams)
Road Warrior of the Year – Gus Brandt (Foo Fighters, Blink 182)
Bill Graham Award for Promoter of the Year – Louis Messina (The Messina Group)
Talent Buyer of the Year – Don Strasburg (AEG Live)
Nightclub Talent Buyer of the Year – Lesley Olenik (Club Nokia, Los Angeles, CA, Fox Theater, Pomona, CA)
Lighting Company of the Year –Upstaging
Sound Company of the Year – Clair
Staging or Equipment Company of the Year – All Access Staging & Productions
Transportation Company of the Year – Rock-It Cargo
Video Company of the Year – Moo TV
UK Booking Agent of the Year – Neil Warnock (The Agency Group)
International Promoter of the Year – Barrie Marshall (Marshall Arts)
International Music Festival of the Year – Glastonbury Festival (UK)
International Venue of the Year – The O2 (London, UK)

BBC Folk Awards out

Don Mclean and The Dubliners both picked up lifetime achievement awards last night at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards at the Lowery Centre in Salford, but it was June Tabor and Oysterband who dominated the show, picking up four awards between them:

Folk Singer Of The Year: June Tabor
Best Duo: Tim Edey & Brendan Power
Best Group: June Tabor & Oysterband
Best Album: June Tabor & Oysterband - Ragged Kingdom
Best Original Song (Joint Winners): Bella Hardy - The Herring Girl, Steve Tilston - The Reckoning
Best Traditional Track: June Tabor & Oysterband - Bonny Bunch Of Roses
Horizon Award: Lucy Ward
Musician Of The Year: Tim Edey
Best Live Act: The Home Service
BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award: Ioscaid
Lifetime Achievement Awards: The Dubliners, Don Mclean
Good Tradition Awards: Ian Campbell, Bill Leader
Roots Award: Malcolm Taylor

Ticket resale laws and anti-fraud legislation in the U.S. and United Kingdom

a USEFUL UPDATE on this whole area can be found on www.ticketnews.com giving readers an reminder on both UK and US law.

BBC's Hackney Weekend adds to bill

There's been a host of new additions announced for the BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, the annual free music festival to be held in east London in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics. The new additions include Bombay Bicycle Club, Calvin Harris, Chase & Status, Dappy, David Guetta, Deadmau5, DJ Fresh, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sande, Jack White, Jessie J, Labrinth, Lana Del Rey, Magnetic Man, Nero, Professor Green, Rizzle Kicks, Swedish House Mafia,Taio Cruz, The Maccabees, The Ting Tings, Will.i.am, and Wretch 32. The free event will take place at Hackney Marshes, East London on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th June 2011, and will have more than double the capacity of previous Big Weekends, and will feature six stages of music for 100,000 people. Artists already confirmed are Florence & the Machine, Leona Lewis, Plan B, and Tinie Tempah, with over 100 international and UK artists, bands and DJs appearing in total. Tickets will be free and are obtained through a lottery and the majority of the tickets are being allocated to people living in Hackney and the surrounding boroughs.

McCartney to headline Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert

Sir Paul McCartney has been announced as the headliner for the 20,000 capacity Diamond Jubilee Concert which will be held on June 4th at the Queen Victoria Memorial in London with Buckingham Palace as a backdrop. He will be joined by Elton John, Tom Jones, Jessie J, Ed Sheerhan, Shirley Bassey, Annie Lennox, Madness, Alfie Boe, Lang Lang and Cliff Richard. A ballot for 10,000 free tickets opened on the 7th February. Elsewhere punk legends the Buzzcocks, The Damned, Eddie & The Hot Rods, Ruts DC, Hugh Cornwell, UK Subs, 999, Chelsea, Anti Nowhere League and the Vibrators are all appearing at the Last Jubilee Festival in Bath Race Course from June 2nd to June 4th.

Sabbath drummer not on the sticks, but The Jesus & Mary Chain will tour

With the Black Sabbath 'original line up' world tour and album somewhat marred by drummer Bill Ward's refusal to commit unless a 'signable' contract was provided so he could join bandmates Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Tommy Iommi, The Jesus And Mary Chain have announced that they will reunite for a handful of US tour dates in March, including a performance at SxSW. Brothers Jim and William Reid will be joined by guitarist John Moore (who played on the band's first two albums, 'Psychocandy' and 'Darklands'), bassist Phil King, and an as-yet-unnamed drummer.

Superbowl fallout girls - MIA faces huge fine, Madonna launches tour

No surprise that Madonna has launched her 2012 MDMA tour after her half time appearance at the Superbowl, but she was somewhat upstaged by a swearing MIA who also raised a finger to the cameras during her performance, and now faces the possibility of a massive fine US regulators - as well as bucketloads of free press. Madonna's tour will kick of in Tel Aviv on the 29yh May and the Live Nation tour will take in London's Hyde Park and Murrayfield in Scotland

Olympic stresses highlighted by EIF

The Event Industry Forum (EIF) is warning event organisers that 2012 will be an exceptional year in the UK because of the Olympic Games, with a huge number of events happening across the UK at the same time advising that in some areas there is likely to be excessive pressure on suppliers which they may not be able to respond to. The EIF has said “We are particularly concerned that this could result in inexperienced suppliers entering the market with the result that something goes badly wrong and the reputation of the industry as a whole becomes tarnished” and offering members advice that includes the suggestion to bring forward with suppliers and establish whether they have sufficient capacity for your event, ensure suppliers have suitable experience and are members of a reputable trade body, make sure that all events around the Olympics are fully risk assessed by someone with appropriate experience and where possible link and share information with other organisers of Olympic events to co-ordinate the supply chain. Separately The UK Government (Cabinet Office) has warned business in the UK that the 2012 games may promote heavy demand on the UK’s internet infrastructure saying that the country’s telecoms system may be unable to cope with increased demand leading to slower speeds, temporary drop outs or even rationing. The Games will also lead to up to 3 million additional public transport journeys each day in London on top of the 12 million made on an average workday during the games. The Department of Transport is piloting a scheme to promote staff working from home and w ill also promote walking and cycling.

http://www.eventsindustryforum.co.uk/

La Scala sacks critical dancer

Mariafrancesca Garritano, the 33 year old ballet dancer who accused La Scala’s dance school of promoting a wave of anorexia and eating disorders in dancers, has been sacked for ‘damaging the image’ of the world famous opera house in Milan.

X marks Beyonce's spot

Simon Cowell has reportedly offered Beyonce $100 million to star as a judge on X-Factor in the USA. If she accepts, it would be the highest TV salary ever! It seems Cowell is very keen for X-factor US to top American Idol in the ratings - and reports say that Cowell also has Mariah Carey in the frame as a judge.

Madonna clears the airwaves

In the USA, Clear Channel and Madonna have partnered across multiple platforms to make it nearly impossible to miss the superstar’s latest single,“Give Me All Your Luvin’" which will air on Clear Channel and partner radio stations and websites, and the music video will run on the company’s 1,600 digital display billboards in nine countries. Additionally, the song and video will be available on demand via iHeartRadio.com (which will also feature 'Madonna Radio), on all Clear Channel Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) and Rhythmic CHR station Facebook pages, as well as the iHeartRadio Facebook and Twitter pages. Outside the US, the single will be featured on Clear Channel radio station websites in Australia and New Zealand, and via Global Radio’s Capital FM Network in the U.K.

Megaboss refused bail again

The New Zealand courts have refused MegaUpload founder Kim (Dotcom) Schmitz bail for the second time. The Mega chief had pleaded that he did not pose any risk of jumping bail as his passport had been surrendered and his bank account frozen saying "I will not run away. I want to fight these allegations on a level playing field. I have three little children. My wife is pregnant with twins. I just want to be with them". However the prosecution again successfully persuaded the judge that the Mega chief was indeed a flight risk, speculating that he may have secret funds he could tap into, and noting his past record, and allegations he fled to Thailand to avoid insider trading charges in Germany. Schmitz will now stay in jail until at least 22 February.

End of the Road refute scientology claim

After a claim made on the eFestivals forum, the organisers of the Dorset-based End Of The Road festival have categorically denied any influence by Church Of Scientology. Specific claims included allegations that the financial losses incurred by the festival during it’s early years were covered by individuals affiliated to the church (the organisers say they themselves and friends covered the losses) and that the festival always included a secret roster of Scientologist performers on its bill,– something the organisers again deny, although they confirmed that two of the event’s board of directors are Scientologists. In France the Paris Appeals Court has convicted the Church of serious criminal fraud, fining its bookshop and Celebrity Centre a total of E600,000 (£500,000) and equating the church to a criminal organisation. Two senior scientologists, Alain Rosenberg and head of the Celebrity Centre Sabine Jacquart were each fined E30,000 and given two year suspended prison sentences.

Sony figures disappoint again

With news that CEO Sir Howard Stringer is on the way out, Sony has again posted disappointing financial figures with a loss of over $2 billion for its most recent quarter. The strong yen and flooding in Thailand hitting manufacturing bases were cited along with disappointing sales. In the music division, recorded music companies saw revenues decline 11.7% and profits decline, 21.7% despite it distributing Adele's phenomenally successful album '21' in the US and successes with Adele's 'Live At The Royal Albert Hall' DVD, strong sales for Susan Boyle product and successful Glee spin-offs although the company is said to be expecting a better 2012 for music at least.

Herb gets the Platters back

Herb Reed, the only remaining member of the Platters, has secure another victory for original members of 50's and 60's bands to retain the use their names after federal Judge Phillip M Pro issued an injunction against Monroe Powell who had been using the name “The Platters Featuring the Legendary Michael Powell” in performances in Las Vegas and other venues around the country. In his 14 page ruling Judge Pro said "Only You, Herb Reed have exclusive rights to the mark "The Platters."" He enjoined Powell from using "The Platters" and "any equivalent or phonetically similar names or marks, in connection with any vocal group in any advertisements, promotional, marketing, or other materials although did allow Powell to use the name where it was made clear it was a tribute or review show.

Canadian Music Week announces headliners

Celebrity interviews with Jeff Beck and Slash, both on March 23rd, a keynote speech from Harvey Goldsmith, and panellists including Michael Chugg (Chugg Entertainment, Australia), Robert Grima (Live Nation Spain) and Peter Jenner are the headlines of the Music Summit (March 22-24) at this year's Canadian Music Week. Both Slash and Beck will also perform at a sold out concerts at the Phoenix Concert Theatre. Speakers at the Digital Media Summit (21-22 March) include Facebook’s Steve Irvine, Arianna Huffington (Huffington Post) and a keynote from Michael Tchong; Speakers at the Radio Summit (22-24 March) featuring two and a half days of the finest Radio networking and education include Steve Jones (Newcap Radio), a keynote from Jeff Haley from the Canadian Radio Advertising Bureau and the business keynote from radio futurologist Jeff Cridland. And finally the Songwriters Summit (march 24) provides a networking environment and educational opportunity for songwriters, lyricists, composers, music creators and publishers. There are Spotlights on Latin America , Spain and Portugal

It all runs March 21st - March 25th with an extensive showcase programme. More at http://canadianmusicfest.com/

Save up for ME says Madge

Madonna has told Newsweek magazine that she refuses to sympathise with fans who grumble about the escalating price of her concert tickets - insisting they should "start saving" their money for a $300 ticket because she's "worth it" and that fans should "work all year, scrape the money together". The tour will promote MDNA, her 12th studio album, which will be released in March. The Queen of Pop will showcase the lead track, Give Me All Your Luvin, at the Super Bowl in America on Sunday.

AEG post interest in Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight Festival organiser John Giddins has responded with a 'never say never' answer to a potential offer to but the iconic event by AEG, who already have controlling shares in a dozen festivals including Coachella and RockNess, and a joint venture with Kilimanjaro, organisers of the multi territory Sonisphere metal fest, Wakestock and Bloodstock. The UK's Telegraph newspaper put the bid at £12 million.

Farewell Johnny Silvo and Don Cornelius

Johnny Silvo, a stalwart of the UK folk circuit and more recently a resident of Norway, has died aged 75. He leaves behind his wife Berit and their son Patrick. And farewell to Don Cornelius, the creator and original host of long-running American music TV show 'Soul Train'. Don died at his LA home, having seemingly shot himself. He was also 75. Can we also remember David Whitaker, composer, conductor and arranger who worked with Andrew Loog Oldham,the Rolling Stones and Marianne Faithfull amongst others, and Ted Dicks, composer of Right Said Fred and Hole in the Ground and who, like Whitaker, also successfully worked in films and TV, Dicks with the Carry On team amongst others.