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Five Day Forecast – w/c 28 Nov 2011
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 28 November 2011
December begins later this week, which means we’ll be switching over to our end of year features on Thursday, announcing the first of our ten artists of the year, as well as commencing our look back at some of the best artists to have featured in our CMU Approved column in 2011, while Vigsy will be providing his top New Year’s Eve party tips. So look out for those. This, of course, can only mean that it’s nearly Christmas. How the hell has that happened? I’m going to go and investigate. While I do that, why don’t you check out some of the other stuff that’s going on this week.
01: Spotify announcement. Spotify last week announced that it will be making an announcement this week in New York. CEO Daniel Ek was coy about what exactly will be said, but he did reveal that he would be joined by some “special guests” on Wednesday to discuss the streaming service’s “latest major development” and “a new direction for the company”. There has been much speculation, of course, about what this might be, with suggestions ranging from opening up a new API to the closure of the free version of the service. I reckon they’re teaming up with Sweden’s other big export, Ikea, to create Billy bookcases with embedded audio. It’s definitely that.
02: Conrad Murray sentencing. Dr Conrad Murray, I’m sure you remember, was earlier this month found guilty of causing Michael Jackson’s death through the negligent administration of the surgical anaesthetic propofol. On Tuesday he’ll be sentenced, likely receiving a custodial sentence of some sort, though possibly not as long as the maximum of four years that the prosecution are pushing for. It’s also likely he’ll lose his medical licence, which is arguably more problematic for the doctor long term.
03: Creative Lancashire Music Blogging Discussion. CMU Business Editor Chris Cooke will be heading North later this week to take part in one of Creative Lancashire’s SoundByte panels, this one looking at the role of bloggers and blogging in music marketing and promotion, one of his very favourite topics. The event takes place at BBC Radio Lancashire’s studios in Blackburn on Thursday at 6pm, and the local BBC Introducing show will be airing highlights on a future edition.
04: New releases. Hospital Records is fifteen years old this year and today the company releases a compilation of classic tracks, extended versions and more to celebrate. Co-founder Tony Colman also put together a playlist of his ten favourite tracks from the label for us last week, which you can check out now too. Also out this week are very fine new releases from Peter Broderick, Zomby and Abi Wade, while Sunn O))) are re-releasing their ‘¯¯ Void’ album, Bon Iver has a special digital version of his latest album out with short films created for each track, Gorillaz have a compilation of all of their singles, and Adele is releasing a live DVD.
05: Gigs. This week, Memphis Industries celebrates its thirteenth birthday with a gig at Koko in London featuring sets from The Go! Team, Field Music, Dutch Uncles and Colourmusic. As well as that, The Great Escape will be showcasing some alternative Balearic acts, Little Boots will play a warehouse somewhere in London, the Gorillaz Soundsystem will appear at the 100 Club, and Outfit, Peggy Sue, Kwes, Nneka and The Jezabels all have London shows planned too. Meanwhile, Thurston Moore, Field Music and The Drums are all touring.
And, as ever, there’s a new CMU podcast out for you to listen to, which this week features talk of the Record Of The Day Awards, Grooveshark, tattooist-endorsed energy drinks and more.
Andy Malt
Editor, CMU
