Live Nation dominates event ticket sales in Q3

Live Nation sold almost twice as many tickets as its nearest rival AEG in Q3 2015. Third on the list was Feld Entertainment followed by Mexican giant OCESA and the UK's SJM.

18,328,251  Live Nation
10,281,448  AEG Live
2,687,715   Feld Entertainment
2,272,063   OCESA / CIE (MEXICO)
2,144,865   SJM (UNITED KINGDOM)
1,466,119   Marek Lieberberg (GERMANY)
1,220,928   Zignia Live (MEXICO)
1,207,282   T4F - Time For Fun (SOUTH AMERICA)
1,123,391   Evenko (CANADA)
1,071,398   Caesars Entertainment
994,954      FKP Scorpio Konzertproduktionen (GERMANY)
981,019      Frontier Touring Company (AUSTRALIA)
927,241      Premier Productions
869,845      The Bowery Presents
842,693      MCD Productions (IRELAND)
777,474      Semmel Concerts Entertainment (GERMANY)
750,068      DG Entertainment
748,940      Another Planet Entertainment
667,684      C3 Presents
639,208      3A Entertainment (UNITED KINGDOM)

The O2 has become the first arena in the world to top the million ticket sales barrier in 2015. The London venue sold 1,235,033 tickets in the first three quarters of the year to maintain its position as the world's busiest venue, ahead of Manchester Arena (824,381 tickets sold) and The SSE Hydro (667,322) in Glasgow in second and third places respectivelly, making up an all-UK top 3 in the Pollstar ticket sales charts. 

Live Nation enjoyed a record third quarter, with revenue rising 10% to $2.76 billion, exceeding analysts' estimates of $2.44bn.  Adjusted operating income (AOI) was up 8% as more than 24 million fans attended the promoter's shows during the third quarter, traditionally the busiest period of the year. More than 48m people attended Live Nation concerts in the first nine months of 2015, up almost 3m on last year. The firm has sold over 54 million tickets for shows this year, up 8% from this point last year, while its Ticketmaster business recorded an 8% growth in global site visits. 


Full Top 100 list on Pollstar here

THE REVOVING DOOR

IQ reports on a potential rejig of the management team at Live Nation's UK and Ireland division, with veteran promoter Denis Desmond tipped for a top role, according to IQ magazine. The rejig follows the recent departure of long-stranding Live Nation UK COO John Probyn, who left the live music major to work on a new sports event in Birmingham. It is thought that Melvin Benn, boss of Live Nation UK subsidiary Festival Republic, will also have an extended role overseeing other festivals owned by the firm.

Randy Phillips has left his position as CEO of Ashley Tabor’s Global Entertainment after just seven months. Phillips was CEO of AEG Live for 13 years before being named boss of Global Entertainment in February. Whilst leaving the CEO role at the label, publishing, artist management, promotion, live concerts, events, touring, branding, sponsorships and marketing group, Phillips is to be appointed to a new role on a ‘specific project to be announced in due course’.

Pandora appears close to a deal to buy Ticketfly, a ticketing agency that specializes in smaller venues, for around $450 million. If the acquisition goes through, it will mark a significant bet on diversification for Pandora, which until now has generated all of its revenue from its Web radio service.

Up to 30% of staff at US mechanical rights firm the Harry Fox Agency will go, according to Billboard's sources, following the company's acquisition by performing rights body SESAC.

Ticketscript has appointed Charlie Sefi as its new Director for the UK and Ireland. He joins from event discovery app YPlan, of which he was a co-founder.

MTV President Stephen Friedman has exited the broadcaster, with Discovery's Sean Atkins Taking over his role. Atkins will report to Doug Herzog, president of the Viacom Music and Entertainment Group. MTV programming co-heads Mina Lefevre (exec vp and head of scripted) and Lauren Dolgen (head of reality and exec vp series development) will report directly to Atkins.


Dave Kaplan, a 13-year veteran of The Agency Group (TAG) has left the company for rival Paradigm. TAG was acquired by United Talent Agency (UTA) last month. 

Adam Velasco (Cherry Red Records), Ben Rimmer (Believe Digital), Harry Martin (Domino Recording Co) and Vincent Clery-Melin (Kobalt Label Services) have all been elected to the Board of the Association of Independent Music (AIM). These replace the following retiring AIM Board Members: Chris Goss - Hospital Records,Doug D’Arcy - Faith & Hope Records, John Dyer - Domino Recording Co and Sharon Dean - Respect Music.7

The Music Business Association in the US has also announced three new board members: Sony Music's Bob Garbarini; Entertainment One's Michael Healy; and Big Machine's Kelly Rich.

Lisa Brown, formerly Senior Ticketing Manager at AXS, has joined The Ticket Factory, the Birmingham-based ticketing business of Midlands venue operator the NEC Group.

Management firm Three Six Zero Group yesterday announced that London-based artist manager Adrian Karvinen has joined its LA operation, bringing with him his current roster of artists Say Lou Lou, Miamigo, Crystal Fighter's singer Kyiki and young Australian producer James Malone.

The Australian arts community has applauded the removal of Attorney General George Brandis from the Arts Ministry and called on his replacement to "undo the damage" inflicted on the industry. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appointed Senator Mitch Fifield as Minister for Communications and Minister for Arts on Sunday. It ends the controversial reign of Senator Brandis, who oversaw huge cuts to the Australia Council in favour of his own funding body. Brandis also loses responsibility for copyright and content classification, which migrates from his office to Fifield.

Notting Hill Music Group has expanded its company’s operations into Nashville through the addition of Ginny Johnson to the company’s global team. The move means that Notting Hill now operates three Transatlantic offices: in London, Los Angeles and Nashville.

The General Manager of Americana label New West Records (Ben Folds, Steve Earle), Michael Ruthig, has resigned after eight years at the company.

Keith Harris OBE is departing the UK record industry's collecting society PPL, where he has been Director Of Performer Affairs since 2006, though he will continue to consult for the rights organisation. Harris is also Stevie Wonder's European manager.

•US collecting society BMI has  announced the appointment of Jodie Thomas to the role of Executive Director, Corporate Communications And Media Relations, reporting into VP Of Corporate Comms Liz Fischer.

Warner Music Group’s Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) Worldwide has promoted a duo of execs in the US. David Orleans has been promoted to President of Sales and Label Management; Kenny Weagly has been promoted to President of A&R and Label Services.

Warner Bros. has appointed Larry Mattera as EVP, Commerce, Digital Marketing & Strategy, reporting to label chairman Cameron Strang. Mattera was previously SVP, Head of Global Digital Accounts at WMG.

In the US music publishing world, ‘Big’ Jon Platt, will become the CEO of Warner/Chappell Music next month, replacing Cameron Strang in the CEO role. Strang will continue in his role as Chairman & CEO of Warner Bros. Records (WBR), as well as serving as a member of the Warner Music Group Corp. Board of Directors.

Universal Music has confirmed plans to move its London HQ to Pancras Square in Kings Cross. The new base will house Universal's music publishing business and sister company See Tickets as well as all UMG labels - and very close to the new PRS for Music headquarters. 

Universal Music UK has appointed Jack Fryer to the new role of Director of Audience Research & Planning. Fryer joined Universal Music UK in October 2013 as Head of Insight, having spent two years in the same role at EMI Records.  He was previously a strategist at marketing agency FRUKT.

Universal Music Group has appointed Nicola Levy as Global Head Of Business Affairs for Digital. She will move from the firm's London office to Santa Monica. And Universal Music Publishing has announced a trio of senior executive promotions within its UK A&R team. Caroline Elleray becomes VP of A&R, Frank Tope becomes Senior Director of A&R and Mark Gale becomes Director of UK A&R / Director of International A&R.

Rob Wells, former Universal Music Group executive has joined the UK startup CrowdMix which has raised £14m ($21m) this year alone to fund the music-focused social network which is preparing to launch a public-facing service next year. Former Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin has taken a minority stake in Saavn, and will also act as a strategic advisor to the Indian streaming service.

Nonesuch Records President Bob Hurwitz has announced he is to step away from the day-to-day running of the Warner-owned label after 31 years at the helm.

BMG has promoted Keith Hauprich to Deputy General Counsel. Based in New York and reporting to Mark Robinson, SVP & General Counsel, Hauprich (pictured) has served as Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs & A/V Business Development for BMG since 2010.

Russia to name and shame pirate site advertisers

Russia's Ministry Of Communications is going to start naming and shaming big brands whose ads are appearing on piracy sites in the country. The advertisers provide funding for the sites as well as perceived legitimacy, often leading consumers to conclude that the sites are  legitimate. The Ministry is planning to publish a list of over 100 such companies, but has already named car firms Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Volvo. Microsoft also makes the list. 

The extinction of musicians and the rise of the machine

The University Of Huddersfield's Dr Steven Jan and Valerio Velardo, co-editors of a new publication called the Journal Of Creative Music Systems, have suggested that there will be a future where computers automatically create a piece of music to suit the listener's mood, thus dispensing with the likes of Ed Sheerhan, Beyonce and AC/DC in the process - and the massive economic infrastructure that supports and markets artistes.

"You wouldn't have to spend a lot of money downloading your favourite tracks", says Jan. "You just tell the computer that you want a piece of music to suit your mood, or something like a piece that you heard last week, and that you want it to be about three minutes long". He added "The field of computational creativity is vibrant at the moment" and "There is work being done to develop programs that can paint and that can write poetry and stories and generate humour. But computational creativity in music hasn't been particularly well explored so far. Things that were thought impossible ten years ago are now becoming a reality". The press release also notes that "there is also the possibility that [the computers] could develop a musical language that humans are incapable of understanding or enjoying, but which could be appreciated by other machines".

http://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2015/september/journallaunchedforcomputersthatcancreatetheirownmusic.php

New streaming 'transparency' in France

Universal, Sony and Warner have agreed to a new government-approved ‘code’ in France which sees them commit to new levels of transparency and “the fair sharing of value from the exploitation of music online”. The was deal announced the country’s Minister for Culture, Fleur Pellerin. The code will mean more clarity over the sharing of multi-million dollar advances from services such as YouTube, as well as the equity stakes that the majors own in digital platforms. Universal, Sony and Warner are believed to own around 15%-20% of equity in Spotify between them.

http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/now-major-labels-agree-improved-artist-streaming-deal-france/

Music Sponsorship booms in the USA

Tours by Taylor Swift, U2, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney and the Rolling Stones along with such festivals as Coachella, Stagecoach, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits have pushed ticket sales, attendance and sponsorship deals in the USA to new heights.  Sponsorship spending on music tours, venues and festivals is predicted to reach a record $1.4 billion in 2015, up 4.8% from last year, according to a report from IEG Sponsorship Report from research, marketing and consulting firm IEG, Chicago. The spend tops the projected 2015 increase in the overall sponsorship industry, which IEG places at 4%, as well as sports (4.4%), causes (3.7%) and "every other property segment."

http://nysportsjournalism.squarespace.com/swift-uber-drive-music-spend-9/

T in the Park's subsidy challenged

Scotland's Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop is to appear before a committee of the Scottish Parliamentto justify a government grant of £150,000 given to music festival T In The Park. The funding was provided as the popular music event moved to a new home at Strathallan Castle. Opposition politicians have said that "serious questions" remain about the funding T received, with Labour MSP John Pentland telling the BBC: "We need some honesty from the SNP government about this £150,000 payment and the extent of the involvement of a former SNP adviser. At a time when the SNP government is slashing the budget for local services, people will find it difficult to understand how such a successful company needs an extra £150,000 from the taxpayer". A spokesperson for Hyslop says that the funding was justified, and in line with grants given to other major events in Scotland.

TomorroWorld US chaos pushes SFX shares even lower

Shares in flagging EDM powerhouse SFX slipped another 12.5%  because of problems at one of the firm's big events  - the third edition of TomorrowWorld - the American spin off of European dance festival Tomorrowland. Described as an "epic disaster of near-riots and looming lawsuits" by Vice site Thump, the problems at TomorrowWorld were caused by inclement weather, athough many festival-goers are blaming the event's promoters for their poor response to the weather after transportation off the boggy site was curtailed, making it hard to exit the festival with fans left stranded at the roadside. On the final day SFX announced that only those already onsite would have access to the final day's festivities, with non-campers offered refunds on their tickets. Announcing that decision, organisers said  "We take the safety of all of our visitors very seriously. The rainfall since Thursday resulted in limited capacity of festival parking fields, drop-off locations, and the shuttle system. Festivalgoers with day tickets, guest list tickets, and anyone not already camping at DreamVille will unfortunately not be able to access today's events".

The firm recently secured an extra $90 million in financing while the board continues to consider options for the company's future but  the New York Business Journal reported that SFX is currently exploring a fire sale of its assets. If SFX's shares remain under $1 for more than 30 days the company risks losing its Nasdaq listing.

UPDATE

MusicWeek reports that SFX has extended the deadline for bids by a further two weeks. The company's special committee of independent directors, with the agreement of chairman and CEO Robert F.X. Sillerman, have now set an initial bid deadline of of October 14, for third-parties to submit proposals to acquire either the entirety of SFX, or assets "not central to the company’s core business". Sillerman has committed to back the decision of the independent directors regarding the future of the business, with the company saying "Pursuant to a voting agreement between Sillerman and his affiliates and the company, Sillerman has agreed to vote all shares beneficially owned by him in favour of a transaction involving the sale of the company that is recommended by the special committee". This agreement lasts until December 2015.

LIVEUROPE announces first year's results

Liveurope, the live music platform uniting 13 European venues to support them in their efforts of programming international emerging acts, has presented its first official yearly results at the Reeperbahn Festival Conference in Hamburg saying over 300 artists were supported across 13 music venues


The platform, which is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union and coordinated by Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, was launched in October 2014, becoming the first collaboration of international venues with the purpose of increasing the circulation of up-and-coming European musicians.

The venues are supported through a progressive bonus mechanism based on the amount of emerging, non-national artists booked every year. Concluding the first year of Liveurope, the displayed results clearly demonstrated the practical benefits of the funding system.

“Becoming a part of Liveurope not only gave us a greater opportunity to include more European artists in our programming, but has also given us a direct chance to collaborate with top European venues and learn from them”, said Dirk de Clippeleir, Managing Director of Ancienne Belgique.

The results of the 2015 season of the Liveurope platform have positively exceeded expectations, with a grand total of 559 up-and-coming European acts hosted.  The data also shows a 23% increase of emerging European acts compared to the 2014 season. On average, the venues showcased 12 nationalities with a total of 32 countries represented.

“We’re consciously booking bands from countries we haven’t booked before to increase the diversity of bands represented in the programming.” said Pedro Azevedo from Musicbox. “Having an exchange of communication between the venues is also a great advantage of this initiative”.

Out of all the emerging European bands booked in the member venues, the United Kingdom represents just below 30% of the booked acts, while the remaining top imported bands represent Germany with 10%, France with 8%, Belgium with 7%, Denmark with 7%, and Sweden with 4% respectively. 

The results of Liveurope in the first year of the platform directly show the potential that music venues can have with the right type of encouragement. Thanks to a continued support from the European Union and with increased experience in the coming years, the platform’s ambition is to program more and more concerts to give artists from every corner of Europe a chance to gain exposure on tours across the continent.

New report points to mental health issues in live industry

Amplify reports that an alarming report by Australian industry group Entertainment Assist paints a stark picture of mental health in the concert and live entertainment community from s asurvey of 2,904 industry workers. According to the report, Aussie concert professionals are three times more likely to seriously consider suicide and twice as likely to attempt suicide as the general public. Severe anxiety is ten times more likely in the entertainment industry than it is in the general population, and depression is five times more likely. Entertainment professionals were twice as likely to binge drink than the general population, four times more likely to smoke pot, nine times more likely to abuse prescription drugs and 12 times more likely to use cocaine.

More here

The Report:  Working in the Australian Entertainment Industry can be found here

U2 concert cancelled after gun scare

The Globe Arena in Stockholm was evacuated at around 8pm on the 19th September over a security threat. It is reported that a gunman gained access to the arena after he claimed to be an off-duty police officer. When Arena security realised their error, a full evacuation was ordered. The concert has been reportedly re-scheduled for Tuesday evening.
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/music-news/u2-gig-in-stockholm-evacuated-as-suspected-gunman-enters-arena-claiming-to-be-police-31543386.html

Who cancel as Daltrey falls ill with meningitis

The Who have postponed all the dates on the US leg of their 50th anniversary tour, after Roger Daltrey was diagnosed with viral Meningitis. The veteran British rock band had already postponed four dates due to singer Daltrey's "mystery virus". A statement on their website said, "After extensive tests the seriousness of his condition became apparent," adding doctors had "prescribed rest". The band apologised to fans and said Daltrey was "on the mend".

Image: Glastonbury 2015 by Nick Cordes

THE REVOLVING DOOR

Live Nation UK's long-standing COO John Probyn has left the live music major and is now heading up operations at The Sports Show, a big new family sports event that will be taking place at Birmingham's NEC next June. Probyn has hinted he could continue to work with the promoter on a freelance basis, alongside his new role. Probyn told Event Industry News that family reasons were behind his decision to move as his family is based in Birmingham, rather than London where Live Nation have their UK head office.

Live Nation has appointed Carrie Davis as its Chief Communications Officer. She joins from Disney. 

The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) has hired Mark Laidlaw as its new director of operations.

Guardian writers Rebecca Nicholson and Jenny Stevens are joining Vice. Nicholson's appointment is as Editor In Chief UK, and stevens is Managing Editor.  Jamie Clifton becoming Deputy Editor of Vice.com and Elektra Kotsoni rises to European Editorial Director. 

Jack Morton Worldwide today announces a key appointment to its leadership team. Bruce Henderson will join Jack Morton as Chief Creative Officer in January based in the New York office of the agency.

UK recorded music body the BPI has elected its Council members for the next year. Independent representatives will be [PIAS]'s Nick Hartley, Absolute's Henry Semmence, Cherry Red's Iain McNay and Regent Street's Vanessa Higgins. They will join two major label reps: David Joseph (Universal Music) and Jason Iley (Sony Music).

Universal's US-based Capitol Music Group yesterday announced Gary Gorman as SVP Alternative Promotion, overseeing, alternative promotion for all of the division's labels.  

A month after Universal Music Canada CEO Randy Lennox exited to join local TV and radio giant Bell Media, he's been joined by UMC artist relations boss Tyson Parker who was Universal's VP of Communications and Artist Relations in Canada. Lucian Grainge replaced Lennox at UMC with indie champion Jeffrey Remedios, the co-founder of the Arts & Crafts label.

Sony Music Entertainment has promoted Jenifer Mallory to Senior Vice President, International. She will lead the development and execution of international marketing campaigns for artists signed to Sony Music in the US, and enhance the market presence of Sony Music’s US artists in other markets around the world.

Sony/ATV has promoted Michèle Hamelink from its Amsterdam office to the music publisher's pan-European A&R team which is led by Guy Moot, and who is "excited" by this new development.

MBW repports that U.K. based artiste manager Sarah Stennett is believed to be entering into a new joint venture with Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, surprising industry observers, who had expected her to affiliate with UMG or Sony. It's said the new venture will be a music-based company but will also dabble in film, TV and, of course, fashion, an area in which Turn First has thrived. Speculation has Stennett selling a part of her Turn First management company, which will be part of the new venture, but her clients, including Def Jam's Iggy Azalea, Cherrytree/Interscope's Ellie Goulding, Roc Nation/Columbia's Rita Ora and RCA's Zayn Malik, will remain with their present labels rather than move to Blavatnik's Warner Music.

Jeff Castelaz has resigned as president of Warner Music Group’s Elektra Records.  General Manager Greg Nadell will now oversee the running of the Warner unit which Castelaz had presided for three years.

Swedish booking agency United Stage has teamed up with music industry veteran Brian Lane to launch a new international division to be run out of London.

•Imagem Music Group's New York office has promoted COO Bill Gaden to CEO for the US. Steve King has also been made Vice President of Imagem Creative Services, with Isabel Arisso promoted to the role of manager in the same division. 

Former Sun Editor Dominic Mohan has joined entertainment PR firm The Outside Organisation as CEO. He will work alongside the agency's founder Alan Edwards - who becomes Chairman - with a remit to expand the range of clients the company works with.

•

Ethan Kaplan is joining Fender as their Chief Digital Products Officer after a relatively short stint with Gracenote. Before that Kaplan was at Warner Music and then Live Nation's now defunct Labs division.

In the UK the Labour Party has appointed Michael Dugher to lead on media, sport and culture issues for the opposition. 

Axwell & Ingrosso have parted company with their longtime manager Amy Thomson of ATM Artists, who recently tied her management firm up with Irving Azoff's latest entertainment venture. It is thought the Swedish House Mafia duo will move to  Ash Pournouri's At Night agency. 

Lily Allen has also departed her only recently appointed managers Henry Village of Stack House and Scott Rodger of Quest/Maverick. Reports say the split "was both mutual and amicable".

BASCA has announced their gold badges winners for this year: Michael Eaton, Peter Gabriel, Mark King, John Logan, Del Newman, Tom Robinson, Leo Sayer, Iain Sutherland, Claire Whitaker, Kim Wilde, Norma Winstone and Chris Wright.

SFX secures new finance

SFX, the embattled EDM promoter, festival organiser and Beatport owner, has refinanced its $30 million revolving credit facilities with a new $90 million cash line that comes from both new and existing investors. SFX said the funding was "for new initiatives and operating and working capital needs". Founder Robert Sillerman added: "This round of financing from these sophisticated investors reflects a level of confidence and provides growth capital to support many of the exciting new initiatives SFX is undertaking". Meanwhile SFX's CFO Richard Rosenstein added: "With the success of many of our festivals in the current quarter and this added financial flexibility, SFX is better positioned to continue growing our powerful brands and support our extraordinary team members who are focused on executing on our strategic plans. This also eliminates all operating distractions as we explore proposals from interested strategic partners".

SFX's share price rose on the news to 62 cents per share, compared to $3.70 at the start of the year, and $13 when SFX floated in October 2013. 

Drone fine is welcome news for event safety

The danger of drones falling out of the sky (and things falling from drones) has recently begun to trouble event organisers - including sports events, outdoor music events and festivals. Now Nottingham based Nigel Wilson, 42, has been convicted flying unmanned devices over built-up public places, or without direct sight of the aircraft, which is prohibited under sections 166 and 167 of the Air Navigation Order 2009. 

Wilson flew drones over Liverpool's Anfield Stadium during a match in September 2014, flying so close to the ground that police horses were “startled” and officers struggled to control them, according to a police statement. He also flew drones over Arsenal’s Emirates stadium in North London, Derby County’s iPro stadium, and Manchester City’s Etihad stadium, all on busy match days. After the Manchester incident, on the 18th October 2014 Wilson was arrested by Greater Manchester police. Wilson was bailed, but then arrested again by Metropolitan Police, who were carrying out an investigation with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), after it emerged he had also been flying drones over London landmarks including Buckingham Palace, the Shard, HMS Belfast and the Houses of Parliament.

Westminster Magistrates Court ordered him to pay a fine of £1,800 and £600 in prosecution costs and also issued a order banning him from buying, owning, or flying drones, or assisting anyone else in using drones, for two years.

Buzzfeed quotes Met Police Chief inspector Nick Aldworth saying: “Flying drones over congested areas or buildings can pose great risks to public safety and security and Wilson put many people in real danger. Today’s outcome should serve as a warning to anyone thinking of doing similar that they could end up in court if they ignore these regulations.”  

At the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada Black Rock Desert last week  a GoPro camera that was meant to capture a panoramic view of Burning Man narrowly missed killing revellers when it fell from a drone, falling to the desert floor where it continued filming after being picked up and ending up in the middle of an outdoor dance party.

http://www.dailydot.com/lol/burning-man-drone-gopro-dance-floor/?fb=ss&prtnr=wired

http://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/drone-crime

Anti Piracy Advert contained infringing material

When the makers of an anti-piracy advert  approached independent musician Melchior Rietveldt asking him to make music for an advertisement that would be used at a local film festival to fight piracy. he was happy to sign up! But it seems the ad makers liked Mr. Rietveldt's work so much they the used it in over 71 DVDs and pre-movie ads in dozens of regions, including the USA.  Mr. Rietveldt never received any compensation and was unaware of this infringement - which some might also call piracy - until he watched a DVD copy of a Harry Potter movie and was shocked to hear the track he composed. It gets worse - his collection society, Daily Tech reports that Buma/Stemra (Buma was recently in the news over a secret  'kickback' scheme it was operating) then got involved - but then a director of the collection society offered to 'collect' royalties through his own company for a 33% share of revenues. All a bit odd? Well yes! In June, Buma/Stemra agreed to pay over €31,000 - but by now Mr. Rietveldt had launched a law suit in place and this week he was awarded another €60,000, plus legal fees, while Buma/Stemra was most certainly in the naughty boys corner. More on Daily Tech here.

Suspected Bestival scammer bailed

A teenager from Brighton has been arrested on suspicion of fraud following complaints about non-supply of Bestival tickets.  Eighteen year old Ben Hyland-Ward was arrested by Sussex Police on suspicion of fraud by false representation and released on bail. BBC News reports that police received over 60 complaints from music fans who paid Hyland-Ward for tickets to the 2015 Isle of Wight Festival but failed to receive anything in return.  A spokesman for Bestival estimated as many as 300 tickets had been bought.  A number of his customers set up a 'Stresstival' Facebook group. Hyland-Ward claimed he had set up a 'guestlist' with the Bestival organisers and then 'sold' tickets at a substantial discount. Bestival organisers have denied any such scheme. Hyland-ward has also claimed that he himself had been scammed.  Hyland-Ward has been bailed until November 10.  At one point a group of disgruntled customers surrounded his home and Hyland ward posted on the FaceBook page "I would like to give a huge apology to everyone as well. I am not asking for sympathy but it has been a horrible 24 hours and I have had some full death threats and I am in real danger."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34200344

RIP

Rico Rodriguez

The Specials' trombonist Rico Rodriguez has died at the age of 80, it has been announced. In a tweet the band expressed its condolences and said his legacy would “go on forever and a day”.  Rodriguez also recorded as a solo artist and played with Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. He was an influential figure in the development of the British ska and 2-Tone movements in the 1970s and 80s after moving to England from Jamaica. He was awarded an MBE for services to music in 2007.

Wayne Carson, the prolific US songwriter who penned 'You Were Always On My Mind' amongst many other hits, has died aged 72. Other hots included 'The Letter', 'Somebody Like Me', 'Soul Deep and neon Rainbow' and artistes who recorded his songs included Elvis Presley, Willie nelson, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker and Tina Turner.

Nashville businessman Jeff Walker has died aged just 65.  Walker suffered from a heart attack at Nashville International Airport. He died later that night in hospital.  Walker made his mark as president and CEO of the AristoMedia Group/Marco Media Group, a diversified entertainment company with branches in publicity, radio and music video promotion and country dance club marketing, among other areas. The company, which worked with both country and Christian music acts, marked its 35th anniversary in April.

Joy Beverley, the oldest of the Beverley Sisters, has died aged 91. Along with her two sisters Teddie and Babs, The trio were known for songs including "Little Drummer Boy" and the Irving Berlin standard "Sisters". They had their own BBC TV show in the 1950s and were made MBEs in 2006. Joy was married to Wolverhampton Wanderers' star Billy Wright until his death from cancer in 1994.

Leading UK house and techno DJ Colin Faver has died. 
Tributes included "Another UK legend sadly passed," said the label Rough Trade, while Nicky Blackmarket posted, "RIP COLIN FAVER one of the originals and true legend." 

Dennis Greene, a founding member of Sha Na Na, has died at 66. He left the band in 1984 to study law and Greene then moved into the movie industry and was a vice president at Columbia Pictures, and began teaching law at the University of Dayton in 2001. He died after a brief illness. Greene performed with Sha Na Na at Woodstock in 1969 and with the group in the 1978 movie "Grease."

Hamburg not hampered by fire

The full programme for Hamburg's Reeperbahn Festival will go ahead as planned later this month, despite one of its outdoor stages burning down earlier this week. The stage on Spielbudenplatz on the Reeperbahn street from which the festival takes its name apparently caught fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Performances planned for that stage will now be moved to a neighbouring stage.

Ents24 revamps and partners up with See Tickets

Online entertainment guide and ticketing hub Ents24 has announced a revamp of is Backstage event listing platform, which will see it partner with See Tickets to offer direct ticket sales.

Adam Brooks of Ents 24 said: "Our partnership with See provides the best of both worlds; the ability to list events and sell tickets via a trusted, secure and recognised platform, and the benefits of promotion to one of the UK's largest audiences of live entertainment lovers - all for free and within a few clicks." See Tickets' CCO Martin Fitzgerald added: "We are pleased to be powering the refreshed Backstage platform with our ticketing technology and functionality. There's a natural and mutually beneficial fit between Ents24 and See - we are both committed to connecting fans to events and this new partnership is all about doing just that".