UK Music Video Awards nominations revealed
David Bowie, Beyoncé, Radiohead, Massive Attack, OK Go, Coldplay and Jamie xx have each picked up multiple nominations in this year’s UK Music Video Awards, which takes place at the Roundhouse in London on Thursday, October 20. The most nominated videos at this year’s awards include Massive Attack’s Voodoo In My Blood, directed by Ringan Ledwidge and starring Rosamund Pike; Jamie xx’s Gosh, directed by Romain Gavras; Miike Snow’s Genghis Khan, directed by Ninian Doff; and Hurts’ Lights directed by Dawn Shadforth. Bowie’s Blackstar and Lazarus are both up for Best Rock/Indie Video, while Radiohead have two videos – Burn The Witch and Daydreaming – up for Best Alternative Video. Beyonce’s Formation is among the nominees for Best Urban Video – International. Hosted once again by BUG frontman Adam Buxton, the awards will shine a spotlight on videos that demonstrate the highest levels of creativity and technical excellence. (Music Week)
Syco Music appoints Pat Handlin senior A&R manager
Pat Handlin has been appointed senior A&R manager for Syco Music UK, moving from Sony Music Australia to take up the role. Handlin’s focus will be to be develop and A&R both new and current artists. He will report to Tyler Brown, head of A&R and Sonny Takhar, president of Syco Music. His career in A&R began as an intern at Red Label with Sony Music Australia in 2006 and was appointed A&R talent scout two years later. That same year, he also spent time at Columbia Records in New York City as part an internal secondment programme. During his career in Australia, he discovered and developed many of Sony Music Australia’s most successful domestic artists. These include Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy, Justice Crew, The Veronicas, Jai Waetford, Samantha Jade and Peking Duk.
Iron Maiden takes fight to touts on upcoming tour
Iron Maiden, whose first major UK arena tour for six years will be announced on Friday Sept 23, have gone to great lengths to ensure their fans are able to buy tickets at the intended price rather than at the inflated prices prevalent on many secondary ticketing sites and also to protect them against counterfeit tickets. The band have been working with Live Nation and Ticketmaster to operate a Paperless ticketing system, in full or in part, at all the UK venues on the tour. The band are also instigating a number of additional measures to help fans access tickets in the fairest, safest way. These include making tickets unavailable for resale, putting purchaser names on tickets and invalidating tickets that appear on any secondary ticketing sites. Iron Maiden has long been active in combatting the abuse of secondary ticketing websites and is a supporter of The Fanfair Alliance, which aims to unite music businesses, artists and fans against ticket touting and profiteering in the online secondary market. (IronMaiden.com)
ASCAP sets up new digital team to improve services
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers has set up a digital team that will help the US performing rights society “harness ASCAP'?s rich data and other assets to make ASCAP?'s music licensing, royalty collection and distribution processes more transparent and efficient for members and licensees”. The digital team will be comprised of the Digital Product & User Experience Group, led by Dena Fletcher, and the newly created Data Strategy & Business Intelligence Group, led by David Frigeri. Both report to Alice Kim, ASCAP?'s chief strategy and digital officer. Dena Fletcher will hold the title of Vice President, Digital Product & User Experience, and is tasked with leading “the implementation of seamless, user-friendly experiences across ASCAP'?s many touchpoints”. She was previously vice president of Product Development at Advance Digital. The first new tool provided by the team is a redesigned version of ACE, ASCAP?'s public repertory database. The is currently working at re-launching a modernised and more intuitive versions of the society's web site, ASCAP.com, and Member Access experiences.
The Great Escape launches new east London festival
The Great Escape has announced a new series of exclusive gigs named First Fifty, which will take place over three days in east London, showcasing the first 50 acts set to play The Great Escape in 2017. Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, The Old Blue Last, Kamio, Zigfrid von Underbelly and The Courtyard Theatre will all play host to shows, aimed at highlighting the most exciting new bands and artists. The First Fifty line-up so far includes the likes of Ray BLK, LA Salami, Platium and Abattoir Blues. First Fifty will be supported by a range of media partners, including BBC Music.
