THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC www.musicweek.com

SALES

02

The Beatles’ digital catalogue hits 10m sales on iTunes in a year

ANALYSIS

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We crunch the numbers behind this year’s X-Factor series

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16.12.11 £5.15

YEAR IN REVIEW

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And so this is Christmas, and what have you done? Quite a lot,

as it happens – and it’s all here

OLYMPICS, MUSIC TV, GLOBAL RIGHTS AND SECOND-HAND TICKETING ON INDUSTRY AGENDA FOR 2012

Happy New Year?

The most powerful executives in the UK music business have opened up to Music Week on what they are aiming to change about the industry in 2012 – revealing, no doubt, the subjects that will dominate the headlines over the next 12 months.

The Olympics are high on the agenda. Live Nation COO Paul Latham encouraged “five weeks of non-stop partying” around the event.

However, WeGotTickets cofounder Dave Newton struck a note of caution, commenting: “The calendar is already oversubscribed with events [and] the Olympics is going to suck away a lot of attention and money. I’m all for the Olympics, it’s just I’m not sure that the live industry is really prepared for the impact.”

MPA chief exec Stephen

Industry voices – from left: Roger Faxon, Simon Fox, Paul Latham, Simon Moran, Stephen Navin, Dave Newton, Bob Shennan and Mike Smith

Navin called the Games “an enormous challenge, and also a great opportunity”.

EMI Group CEO Roger Faxon urged the market to “create a licensing framework that assures proper compensation for the talented artists and writers without whom there simply wouldn’t be an industry”.

And Columbia MD Mike Smith hoped the industry would “see the beginnings of a return to growth... and that new ways of interacting with music fans will finally start to show rewards”.

He added: “The biggest challenge will be to find and break genuinely original and inspiring music that can touch everyone. Adele has proved there is still a massive audience there if you get it right - we just need to get it right a lot more often”.

HMV CEO Simon Fox has other concerns on his mind.

“Whilst delivery of music will obviously continue down its digital path, I hope there is also an appreciation across the industry of the substantial and viable demand that can still exist for CDs if properly supported,” he said. “Clearly the current economic environment presents a challenge for us all, and one that’s not going to go away anytime soon.”

Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane manager Ian McAndrew called for investment in the development of new artists. He wasn’t alone when suggesting that the industry “responds to the concerns of music fans by implementing reform around [second-hand] ticketing so live music can be an affordable and positive experience for everyone”. SJM MD Simon Moran also wanted ticket pricing “to be kept competitive, to help keep people coming through the doors”.

And Radio 2 and 6 Music controller Bob Shennan’s hoped to “unearth the next big TV format to bring new audiences to new music.”

n Turn to page 18 to read what industry luminaries thought of 2011 and all that – and what they see as the market’s biggest hopes and challenges in 2012

Cooking Vinyl starts sleeping with The Enemy

Cooking Vinyl has scored a coup by signing Coventry-based three-piece The Enemy, ahead of the release of the band’s third album in May next year.

The royalty deal covers the worldwide release of the LP from the band, who were previously signed to Warner.

Led by frontman Tom Clarke, The Enemy begin work on their third album this month at Kore studios in Acton with The Bronx’s Joby J. Ford in the producer’s chair.

Clarke was outspoken about his previous label, commenting: “My experience of record labels is as follows: the big ones have got big lawyers who want to pull your pants down and fuck you for fun while telling you they’re doing you a favour. And they are all about one thing – money.

“The smaller ones are about two things – people and music. Success is possible because, when a small team of enthusiastic people care, they are capable of creating something that no big label or their lawyers can buy, passion. You can’t take 25% of net passion.

“Cooking Vinyl have got bags of passion, and look where it ’s got them; The Prodigy put out some of their finest work on Cooking Vinyl, The Subways are tugging at the Radio 1 A-list, that’s a guitar band on the A-list in 2011. That is where passion gets you, and right now it ’s gotten us into the studio, excited, enthused and passionate about being a band again. Something which our previous label miserably failed to achieve.

“Long live Cooking Vinyl and all the proud people who make it what it is.”

The popular band’s 2007 debut LP, We’ll Live And Die In These Towns, went to No.1 and sold over 400,000 units in the UK, according to Official Charts Company data.

Follow up Music For The People sold close to 100,000 a year later, hitting the No.2 spot.