PPL collections up!

The UK's sound recording collecting agency PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) has announced its 2011 financials at the annual London AGM. The revenue generated by broadcast and online royalties was up 7% to £66.2 million, public performance income was up 10% to £55.0 million, and international monies grew 2% to £32.4 million. Overall £153.5 million was collected, of which £130.8million, or 85.21%  was distributed to the society's label and performer members.

PPL also announced the most played pop songs of 2011 which were 

1. Adele - Rolling In The Dee
2. Maroon 5 feat Christina Aguilera - Moves Like Jagger
3. Adele - Set Fire To The Rain
4. Jessie J feat BoB - Price Tag
5. Adele - Someone Like You
6. Ed Sheeran - The A Team
7. Lady Gaga - The Edge Of Glory
8. Bruno Mars - Grenade
9. Rihanna - Only Girl In The World
10. Forget You - Cee Lo Green

and the most Played Classical Pieces Of 2011
1. Ludovico Einaudi - Primavera
2. Ludovico Einaudi - Nightbook
3. Ludovico Einaudi - The Tower
4. City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra with Paul Bateman - On The Beautiful Blue Danube (by Johann Strauss II)
5. Philharmonic Orchestra with Eugene Ormandy - Fanfare For The Common Man (by Aaron Copland)
6. Philip Glass - Metamorphosis One
7. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Ludovico Einaudi - Divenire
8. Cleveland Orchestra with Lorin Maazel - Romeo And Juliet (by Sergei Prokofiev)
9. The Labèques & Philharmonia Orchestra with Semyon Bychkov - Concerto for Two Pianos in E major (by Felix Mendelssohn)
10. Dawn Upshaw & London Sinfonietta with David Zinman - Symphony No 3 (by Henryk Gorecki)

PRS live income up by 8.2%

Collections from the UK live sector in 2011 were up 8.2% at £22.5 million. PRS for Music puts the increase down to a boom in festival acts and stadium tours in the UK. £20.8 million was collected in 2010 which were depressed by the World Cup. £22.3 million was collected in 2009 from live music.

PRS Revenues grow

Revenues collected by UK collection society PRS For Music on behalf of songwriters and their publishers has risen 2011, by 3.2% to £630.8 million. This despite a continued drop in the money paid to songwriters and publishers by record companies from record sales (what was called 'MCPS' income), which were down 13.3%.

PRS reported increases in the monies collected from international licensees, the live sector and digital services which all helped ensure that overall PRS income was up. International income was up 10.6%, aided by a number of big hits for British songwriters and the continued increases in efficiency in collecting royalties due to PRS members from outside the UK. Income from licenced digital services was up 45.3% and now accounts for 6% of PRS's total income. Live royalties were up 8.2%.

UK record sales continue their downward slide

The BPI has released figures showing that despite a growth in digital sales, overall record sales in the UK continued to decline. It was another record breaking year for singles sales which were up 10%, the vast majority being sold digitally, with just one million CD singles sold in 2011 accounting for less than 1% of the singles market. Digital albums also saw significant growth, up 26.6%, though that wasn't enough to compensate for the continued slump in CD sales, with album sales overall down 5.6% to 113.2 million. The figures do not include revenues from either the performance of sound recordings (from PPL), from band’s own sales or from the new and growing streaming services.

Top Ten UK Singles Of 2011
1. Adele - Someone Like You (Beggars/XL)
2. Maroon 5 feat Christina Aguilera - Moves Like Jagger (Universal/Polydor)
3. LMFAO feat Lauren Bennett & Goonrock - Party Rock Anthem (Universal/Polydor)
4. Jessie J feat BoB - Price Tag (Universal/Lava)
5. Rihanna feat Calvin Harris - We Found Love (Universal/Mercury)
6. Pitbull feat Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer - Give Me Everything (Sony/J)
7. Bruno Mars - Grenade (Warner/Atlantic)
8. Ed Sheeran - The A Team (Warner/Atlantic)
9. Adele - Rolling In The Deep (Beggars/XL)
10. Jennifer Lopez feat Pitbull - On The Floor (Universal/Mercury)

Top Ten UK Albums Of 2011
1. Adele - 21 (Beggars/XL)
2. Michael Bublé - Christmas (Warner/Reprise)
3. Bruno Mars - Doo-Wops & Hooligans (Warner/Atlantic)
4. Adele - 19 (Beggars/XL)
5. Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto (EMI/Parlophone)
6. Rihanna - Loud (Universal/Mercury)
7. Lady Gaga - Born This Way (Universal/Polydor)
8. Jessie J - Who You Are (Universal/Lava)
9. Ed Sheeran - + (Warner/Atlantic)
10. Rihanna - Talk That Talk (Universal/Mercury)

Gaga triumphs at MTV EMAs

Lady Gaga triumphed at the MTV European Music Awards in Belfast on the 6th November, winning Best Female, Best Single, Best Video and Best Song – and Best Fans. Mars did well with four gons but split between the rather different Thirty Seconds to Mars and Bruno Mars, each with two gongs.

Best Female: Lady GaGa
Best Male: Justin Bieber
Best New: Bruno Mars
Best Live: Katy Perry
Best Pop: Justin Bieber
Best Hip-Hop: Eminem
Best Rock: Linkin Park
Best Alternative: Thirty Seconds To Mars
Best World Stage: Thirty Seconds To Mars
Best Push (Emerging): Bruno Mars
Biggest Fans: Lady GaGa
Best UK & Ireland Act: Adele
Best Worldwide: BIGBANG
Best Video: Lady GaGa - Born This Way
Best Song: Lady Gaga – Born This Way

Mobo winners out

And the winners at the 16th MOBOs (Music of Black Origin) in Glasgow were:
Best UK Act: Jessie J
Best Newcomer: Jessie J
Best Hip Hop/Grime Act: Tinie Tempah
Best Video: Tinchy Stryder feat Dappy - Spaceship
Best International Act: Rihanna
Best Song: Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude
Best Album: Jessie J - Who You Are
Best Reggae: Alborosie
Best Jazz Act: Kairos 4Tet
Best African Act: Wizkid
Best Gospel Act: Triple O
Best R&B/Soul Act: Adele
Outstanding Contribution To Music: Boyz II Men
BeMOBO Award: Youth Music

BT Digital Music Awards announced

The winners of the BT Digital Music Awards have been announced and amongst the very worthy recipients picking up gongs at London’s Roundhouse were JLS who picked up Best Group, Bruno Mars who picked up Best International, Adele who picked up Best Independent Artist, Jessie J picked up Best Newcomer and Best UK Female Artiste and Ed Sheerhan as Breakthrough Artist Of The Year. At the digital sharp edge, the Best Music App was Orange’s Glastonbury 2011 app, the Best Place To Discover Music was Radio 1 online, the Best Place To Hear Music: YouTube (!!), the Best Place To Buy Music was iTunes and the Best Innovation Or Gadget: SoundCloud. Colplay picked up both best Official site for an artiste with www.coldplay.com and the People's Choice Award For Best Fan Site For An Artist for www.coldplaying.com

Bestival rape allegation

A 15-year-old girl has reported that she was raped at Bestival in the UK. The teenager has told police that she was with friends in the main arena of the festival at Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight on Sunday when she was approached by a man she did not know. She said she was raped some time between 19.30 and 20.30 near the main arena. The attacker was described as black, in his 20s, approximately 6ft tall, and of large muscular build with braided hair.

Roskilde tower death sparks enquiry

CMU Daily reports that a young woman died at this weekend's Roskilde Festival in Denmark after falling from a tower in the event's camping area that was part of an aerial cable ride run by one of the festival's sponsors. Another festival-goer fell but suffered only light injuries. A spokesman for the event said this weekend's accident was "very tragic", adding that organisers were waiting for more information from the police regarding the incident before making any further comment.

Music Tank asks are dinosaurs extinct?

The expanded line up for MusicTank’s mini-conference 'Remake, Remodel: Challenging The Dinosaur Myth' has been announced. The half day event will take place at PRS For Music in Berners Street, London W1 on Thursday the 14th July from 2.30pm. Speakers include

Tony Wadsworth (Chair, BPI)
Muff Windwood (Sony UK President)
Paul Smernicki (Universal digital)
Peter Thompson (MD PIAS)
Martin Goldschmidt (Cooking Vinyl)
Robert Horsfall (Sound Advice)
George Ergatoudis (Headof Music, Radio 1)
Malcolm Gerrie (WhizzKid Entertainment CEO)
Alice Enders (media analyst).
Eamonn Forde (Digital Editor, Music Week)

More at www.musictank.co.uk

Elon launches new management stable

Elton John has announced details of the Rocket Music Entertainment Group - set up by the singer songwriter after parting ways with Twenty-First Artists, the management. Artistes managed by the group will include Elton himself and James Blunt, Lilly Allen, Just Jack, Dirty Vegas, Pnau and Marina & The Diamonds. The new management team includes Frank Presland as Chairman, Todd Interland as CEO, John Barbis as Chairman North America, Mike Tierney as GM, and Will Ashurst as COO.

Julies Bicycle gives 14 UK festivals the IG

Julie's Bicycle has awarded fourteen UK festivals its Industry Green certificates, with Shambala becoming the first to get the full three-star award for running almost entirely on renewable energy. Julie's Bicycle director Alison Tickell told CMU: "The challenge of reducing impacts while growing the business is being tackled head on by this brave group of festivals, It's not always comfortable to put the green brand to the test. This group of festivals are doing it for real" .The full list of newly awarded festivals is: Big Chill, Glastonbury, Grass Roots, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, Isle Of Wight Festival, Latitude, Leeds Festival, Lovebox, Reading Festival, Shambala, Sonisphere, T In The Park, Truck and Wood Festival.
Also out this week are the nominations for the Music Week 2011 Julie's Bicycle Green Business Award. The six finalists are Firefly Solar CIC, KOKO, The NEC Group, The Premises Studios Ltd, The Sage Gateshead and Truck Enterprises for the Wood Festival.

Great Escape Update

The latest batch of announcements about the Great Escape convention inlude news from PRS for Music, host of day one of the convention, who have announced that their Chief Economist Will Page will be joined by Topspin CEO Ian Rogers and digital music expert and Bandcamp advisor Andrew Dubber for his keynote session, which will focus on the rising importance of direct to fan platforms. Page, Rogers and Dubber will together assess the role of such platforms for labels and artists, today and in the future, and evaluate the different approaches taken by rival services, while also considering how best to use direct-to-fan technology to recruit, engage and sell to fans.

The Great Escape will also again be looking at how artists and music companies can "escape" their domestic markets and pursue opportunities in other territories. This topic with be expertly dealt with this year in a panel presented by PPL. Bringing insights from a live, label and management viewpoint on how to meet the challenge of launching and monetising talent abroad, the panel will include ATC Management's Arwen Hunt, Exceptional Records' Bob Fisher and PPL's Director of Performer Affairs Keith Harris. Elsewhere in the panels domain, 7Digital's Ben Drury and Omnifone's Jez Bell will discuss the merits of rival digital business models, while BASCA CEO Patrick Rackow will lead a debate on digital licensing. For those working with newer artists, Radio 2 and 6Music's Jeff Smith, The Guardian's Caspar Llewellyn Smith, and festival and TV booker Ali Anselmo will reveal how they discover new talent, and advise bands on how they can build that all important "buzz".

On the Friday afternoon, delegates will be able to explore the thought processes that go on behind music-based brand partnerships as four managers and promoters pitch their sponsorship ideas to four leading brand managers. In more news, HMV CEO Simon Fox will provide a keynote and take questions on his vision for the UK live sector, discussing HMV's ambitions in this space and how the live industry could better work with other parts of the music business. Wired journalist Duncan Geere will provide an insight session on the state of the digital music market, with some predictions on future trends.

In the series of In Conversation sessions, Frank Turner will be discussing his career with 6music's Matt Everitt. Other sessions include DJ Shadow and BRIT Award winning producer Paul Epworth. There is also a "masterclass" programme, The Great Escape Start Ups Showcase, and the debate on what the future music company will look like, which will include insights from BMG Chrysalis A&R director Alan Pell and Cooking Vinyl chief Martin Goldschmidt.

The Great Escape runs from 12-14 May across Brighton. More at http://escapegreat.com/