It comes as a disappointing (though somewhat unfortunately expected) occurrence that Britain has yet again failed to achieve even a glint of appraise in another unfruitful Eurovsion Song Contest. Alongside one more woeful, outdated pop entry from Britain there rings the ever increasingly cries that this event is marred by some sort of unfortunate political exercise in which eastern European countries contrive to further their political communications via the pretense of voting for over-produced, nauseous pop music.

Don’t get me wrong, while I find the music fairly terrible at times, the concept could certainly redeem itself as a platform for serious artists and producers, and as a unifying event that could help join musical cultures – essentially what it should be anyhow. But the event has spiralled towards a kitsch wash of cheesy bedazzlement and sensationalized performances so lacking in genuine emotion that I feel I could find more honesty in an Eastenders omnibus.

It is fair to say that thanks to Bush and Blair’s Middle East endeavours we’re not so popular amongst our European counter-parts. That’s something of a given. However I was left wondering just how much of our poor result this year was due to our military coup and unfavourable European image, as our Wogan would have you believe, and how much was down to the fact that we entered a piece of music so dated and out-of-touch with the competition that the Butlins Redcoats would rather sing another rendition of Angels than hark Andy Abraham’s middle-of-the- road drone Even If.

By all means Wogan, leave the scene if you feel so inclined, even if it will be to the detriment of the spectatorship (which it indubitably will) but I cannot agree that our lack of success falls upon tactical voting. When Aphex Twin, early Streets or Gorrilaz enters and finishes bottom of the pile maybe then we can cry to Points of View.

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Congratulations is due for Simon Fuller who, after collecting the Peter Grant Award for music management last week was named on monday as Britain’s most successful music manager. His career to date has seen the worldwide notoriety of the Spice Girls, a number of pop sensations like S Club 7 and Amy Winehouse and the creation of the global phenomenon that is Pop Idol – that now has over 100 different versions.

While I personally find the commercial world of music he has excelled in slightly nauseous it is certainly a commendable accolade to have such a successful history. To date he has sold more tracks that Brits Brian Epstein and Peter Grant – managers of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin respectively – and his tally of 116 million records sold puts him third in the all-time chart for managers. This figure is still 32 million off Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom Parker who tops the lot at 148 million records sold.

And lest you not forget, I will leave you with a little reminder that it’s the Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Final this evening so don’t forget to tune in and remind yourself of the wonderful and glorified karaoke occasion that isn’t Pop Idol before Saturdays finals…

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It’s tentative times for Guy Hands as figures show EMI to be holding its lowest share in the US market for at least half a decade. EMI have a roster of high earning artists from the likes of Kylie and Coldplay to the Kooks, though recent times have been rather rough. Alongside suffering the desertion of Radiohead – just before their massive success that was In Rainbows – Rolling Stones have been rumoured to be turning their back on EMI, releasing their next album with Universal Music Group plaguing the recorded music division with difficult questions. The company has been marred recently by news that up to 2,000 jobs may be cut at the label in a shake-up designed to streamline the companies outgoings and improve profit margins, however there seems to be a downward slope that is taking a hold at EMI.

All may not be lost however as EMI’s recorded music division is placing much of its hopes in the hands of trump card Coldplay who are about to release Viva la Vida in Britain and the States on the 12th and 17th of June respectively. The British soft-rockers are EMI’s bestselling act globally and could help revive the current low figures that are plaguing the recorded music division.

The news of EMIs shortcomings in the US market is ultimately untimely though with the recorded music division of the label heading towards a difficult review point in September. Guy Hands’ Terra Firma are expected to meet financial targets as part of the clause of their loan from Citigroup – who lent £2.5bn to Terra Firma for the £4bn needed to buy out EMI – and they [EMI] are expected by Citigroup to meet earnings of £180m by september. Sources from within the company hint however that the label will be short of this figure come crunch time.

It has come about, through what I can only imagine was an interesting period of research, that music can enhance the taste of wine. The claims are so strong that they could lead drinks manufacturers to placing musical recommendations on particular bottles to improve the drinking experience.

Apparently, cabernet sauvignon goes down well with the heavy music – that’s Hendrix or Stones “heavy”, not Meshuggah or Slayer – while Merlot can be washed down with some Otis Redding (Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay).

The study, undertaken by the Heriot Watt University on behalf of Chilean winemaker Aurelio Montes, may not be quite so conclusive when considering that the research employed the wine tasting skills of 250 students – whose payment for this research was a free glass of wine. That said, it at least provides me the opportunity to go home and second the research with my own wine tasting session…

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Coldplay have become the latest band to make the news for giving away their creations, gratis, over the interweb. Joining an elite that is fast becomming a who’s who of music, the lads have managed to drum up a great deal of attention through this now tried and tested platform for spreading the word of an album release. In the first 24 hours of making the track available at coldplay.com around 600,000 downloads were processed. While it is indeed a great model on which a successful band can generate a good deal of interest from, it now seems as though such tactics could be to the detriment of recorded music in general.

The free-music ventures are often given the go-ahead as they’re usually on a digital (minimum cost) medium and equate to a loss-leader – where the raised interest for the band has significant impact on gig ticket, and consequently merchandise sales at live gigs. However, from an industry that is fast trying to paint the picture that music should be paid for, cashing in on the short-term profits of a great marketing technique is doing nothing for their cause in the long-run. A precedent is being set with the consumer under false pretenses, a free-music ideal that is becoming perceived as an established form of release. Further still, why, the consumer may ask, is the industry complaining about their peer-2-peer usage and illegal file-sharing when the big suits and acts themselves are giving their hard work away for free anyway.

My questions of this marketing stunt are further exemplified by the lack of compatibility to upcoming artists. It is certainly the case that breaking an artist can be helped through leaking tracks onto peer-2-peer and bitTorrent communities, getting their name bounded about, however the investment into new acts must recoup at some level otherwise it is not worth the initial risk. In short, giving away your single for free can only really work if you are already established; it’s monetary loss weighing against the gained capitol of promotion for other income streams – such as live gigs. However as the larger labels and acts – the taste-makers – start to use this as a solid form of promotion it’s value as such will only decrease, while the concept of legitimate free music to the consumer will ensure that the acquisition of such through illegitimate means doesn’t seem so bad. After-all, (and I can hear the internal monologue) “all these other bands are giving their music away for free and they’re doing fine so if I download this album here it’s not so bad”.

Certainly the idea of, at some point, opening your music up as an artist for the public to obtain free of charge is a nice, and certainly not an entirely detrimental idea. But only if approached with some sort of long-term appreciation and consideration to the music distribution model as a whole. Films, I believe can stand as a good example of this. In the first instance the film is screened in cinemas where you pay for the experience before it is later aired on television to the un-paying population. Releasing music with all the bells and whistles attached, solid-state, before giving away the bare-bones mp3s is one option amongst many. Certainly it is a ripe time for the consumer, but a balance must be met to ensure the industry, and more importantly the artists, can continue to provide the listener with the music they love.

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