music

British musicians on the rise

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British musicians such as Adele and Calvin Harris have helped the country’s music revenues go past the £188m in royalties from overseas.

PRS for Music collects royalties from overseas on behalf of UK songwriters, composers, and music publishers and the body says the big hits from the two top performing British artists have helped push revenues.

In 2011 alone, UK songwriters and composers earned £187.7m. That was a 10% from 2010. The income earned overseas has also doubled over the last ten years.

Revenues are said to have increased within the last ten years primarily because of how popular British music is and because of improved licensing.

Harris and Adele are popular amongst American singers who have also asked them to write their songs.

Those include Rihanna and Nicki Minaj. Amongst the biggest consumers of British music are Brazil and China.

British artists also show interest in the country by performing in Brazil since it was awarded the 2014 FIFA World Cup of Football and the 2016 Olympic Games.

Royalties received from online sales by UK songwriters, composers and music publishers have increased within the last few years and should double by the year 2022.

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One Direction about to become two

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One Direction band member Zayn Malik is to be married to a fellow musician. Twenty year old Malik this week proposed to another 20 year old – Perrie Edwards – of the group Little Mix.

The UK band One Direction premiered its film “This Is US” last Tuesday and Edwards was seen wearing a ring at the premiere in London. The singer’s mother Debbie Edwards has confirmed that the pair did become engaged a week ago.

The band’s label, Columbia Records, has also confirmed that the pair is to be wed, but added that any further detail about their relationship is considered private. Both One Direction and the female trip Little Mix were formed on the British talent programme “The X Factor”. Little Mix won the competition in 2011 while One Direction finished third in 2010.

Despite their runner-up placing, the group has topped music charts around the world. “This IS US” shows some of the pain of the popular boy-band’s mothers who have to buy cardboard cut-outs of their sons because they hardly ever get to see them.

The band have made as much as £640 million in one year alone between album sales and tours since they became famous. The bands five members are aged between 19 and 21.

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British bands the biggest in the world

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The Beatles have long been confirmed as the biggest band in the world but now it seems the top bands in the world all hail from the UK.

The quartet of Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon crossed the billion albums sold threshold joining only single artistes Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson in the top three.

The top 20 artists in music history are The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, AC/DC, Whitney Houston, The Rolling Stones, Queen, ABBA, The Eagles, U2, Billy Joel, Phil Collins, Aerosmith, Frank Sinatra, and Barbra Streisand.

Of that number the Brits include Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Queen, and U2. Some of the biggest solo acts are also British including Elton John and Phil Collins

The list of biggest selling artists includes those that have sold over 75 million albums worldwide

Except for the The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Michael Jackson, only Madonna, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd have sold over 250 million albums worldwide.

The Australian group AC/DC and Swedish band ABBA join those that have sold between 100 and 200 million albums worldwide.

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Doctors compete to treat Michael Jackson

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Michael Jackson’s doctors competed to treat the late pop star according to his ex-wife Debbie Rowe. Rowe, who was married to Jackson from 1996-1999, was testifying at a trial in which Jackson’s mother, Katherine, is suing tour promoter AEG Live.

Rowe, who testified on behalf of AEG, said that each of the doctors offered Jackson, who died in 2009, strong painkillers. This was well before his death from an overdose of the surgical anaesthetic propofol, on June 25 2009.

Rowe, who is the mother of the King of Pop’s two older children, said the singer had a very low tolerance for pain. As such, doctors had over the years prescribed potent drugs like Demerol, Dilaudid, Oxycodone, and Vicodin.

Katherine Jackson is suing the promoter in a multi-million case for negligently retaining Conrad Murray who looked after Jackson during the “This Is It” tour.

The doctor was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2011. He had prescribed the drug because the “Thriller” singer had chronic insomnia.

The former nurse, who now raises horses, said that because of the music stars history of chronic pain he was ling being prescribed powerful drugs.

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Robin Thicke dismisses Marvin Gaye plagiarism claims

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American singer Robin Thicke has filed a legal suit against the family’s of 70’s soul singer Marvin Gaye and Bridgeport Music after they accused him of plagiarism over his hit Blurred Lines. The Gaye family has claimed that Blurred Lines is plagiarism of their father’s Gaye’s 1977 song “Got To Give it Up”.

Bridgeport Music, owner of the compositions of the 1970’s funk band Funkadelic claim that the song is a reworking of that group’s 1974 single “Standing on the Verge of Getting it On.” Thicke has denied the charges or any suggestion that the song was inspired by any other. Pharrell, who also appears on the song and is a big fan of Marvin Gaye, has denied any comparisons.

Thicke has had some measureable success lately, appearing on the Kevin Hart-produced hit BET fake reality comedy series “Real Husbands of Hollywood”. Thirty-six year old Thicke is married to black actress, Paula Patton, who has starred in “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” and the Denzel Washington film “2 Guns”.

Blurred Lines has been stirring up controversy for weeks now. It was banned from YouTube for being too racy with its depiction of naked women gyrating over Thicke. The song has reached number one in 14 countries.

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Ex BBC Dj charged with sex crimes

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One of the best known deejays in Great Britain has been charged for sex crimes which spanned 30 years. Sixty-eight year old Dave Lee Travis has been charged with 11 counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual assault on women between 1977 and 2007.

The complainants include a 15 year old girl. Travis, who was a presenter for the BBC, was once hailed by Myanmar‘s Aung San Suu Kyi for helping entertain her over the airwaves during her years in captivity in her homeland. Suu Kyi said Travis’ music request programme “A Jolly Good Show” made her world “much more complete”. Travis, real name David Patrick Griffin, is not the first BBC host to find himself in hot water over allegations of sexual misconduct.

The police have launched an investigation into late BBC TV host Jimmy Savile, one of the biggest stars in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s. Since his death in 2011, unprecedented numbers of sex crimes he committed have come to light. Several British TV and radio personalities have also been arrested since the inquiry. Travis has denied all the accusations against him. He is to appear at London‘s Westminster Magistrates Court on August 23.

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Paul McCartney wins back rights to Beatles songs

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Let It Be – and so it shall be as Sir Paul McCartney has won back the rights to the Beatles songs he lost to Michael Jackson over 30 years ago.

McCartney lost the publishing rights to the quartet’s songs when Jackson outbid him to buy them for a reported £31 million pounds and was disappointed again when they were not left to him in Jackson’s will when the singer died in 2009.

The duo were friends and even teamed up for songs like “The Girl Is Mine” and “Say, Say, Say” before the King of Pop’s move turned caused the relationship to sour.

McCartney, who has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, will regain the songs and be able to claim the titles and earn royalties and licensing money in another five years under the US Copyright Act.

Under the Act songs written before 1978 become the property of the songwriter after 56 years. This means McCartney will regain most of the songs by 2026.

McCartney, who recently married for the third time, following an ugly divorce from Heather Mills, is already worth a reported £680 million.

Back in 2005, Sony paid Jackson £62 million pounds for 50 per cent of the rights to the back catalogue.

It is not known how much the catalogue is worth these days.

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Dance music hitting the high notes in the Uk

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Dance music is gaining popularity in the UK. The latest data from the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) says that dance music is the most popular it has been in the Isles since 2006. The genre has a market share of 16.3%. That is behind the two largest market shareholders pop and rock.

Singles in the genre have also gone up by 19.1% in the first six months of the year and dance album sales are up by more than one third.

At least ten dance songs have sold more than a quarter of a million copies in the last seven months.

Calvin Harris beat Michael Jackson’s record for the most top ten hits from a single album in April with the album 18 Month. Harris has had eight top ten hits while Jackson’s previous record was seven.

Dance music single sales are up by 19.1 per cent.

Other interesting facts see that more than one in six singles sold in the UK between January and June were dance tracks; six of May’s top ten selling singles were dance songs, and 46.9 per cent of dance songs were downloaded.

Among the most popular acts are Daft Punk, whose album Get Lucky took 69 days to sell 1 million copies in the Uk.

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Simon Cowell the richest man on Tv

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Simon Cowell is about to become a father for the first time and he should be able to take good care of his new son or daughter after he was named the richest man on Americantelevision according to Forbes Magazine.

Cowell and radio jock Howard Stern tied at the top of the list earning £61 million in the 12 months leading up to June 2013.

Cowell was a judge on American Idol until 2010 and is still a judge on X-Factor. It is his ownership in the Got Talent and X-Factor franchises which earn him most of his dough.

X-Factor airs in 41 countries while Got Talent is the biggest selling television franchise in the world.

Cowell also makes money from his Syco music label which is behind acts such as One Direction, Il Divo, and Leona Lewis.

Stern makes some of his earnings from hosting the Cowell-produced America’s Got Talent. The rest of the top ten includes commentator Glenn Beck who came in third with $90 million, Oprah Winfrey who drew in $77 million, Dr. Phil McGraw who came in fifth with $72 million, political commentator Rush Limbaugh who made $66 million, Donald Trump with $63 million, Idol host Ryan Sea crest with $61 million, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres with $56 million and Judge Judy Sheindlin with $47 million.

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Adele makes cameo in new movie

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She conquered the music world and now she is about to take on the film world as Adele makes a cameo in the new film The Secret Service.

Adele, who won the Academy Award earlier this year for Best Original song for Skyfall from the James Bond film of the same name, will star alongside British actors Colin Firth and Michael Caine and the American Samuel L Jackson, in the spy-flick.

The movie will be directed by Matthew Vaughan who also directed Kick Ass.

Twenty-five year old Adele will reportedly play a villain in the film which is also expected to feature British icons David Beckham and Sir Elton John. She previously made her acting debut in the television series Ugly Betty back in 2009.

The singer/songwriter has been busy in the last year, having a baby and working on her new album.

Adele, who became a mom in October, has been back in studio working on her latest album since April with producers James Ford and Kid Harpoon.

The album will be a follow up to her last hit record 21. She has also won a Grammy and a Brit Award for Skyfall.

The album, which is reported to be ready to hit the shelves mid-2014, is said to be edgy .

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