Over in the US, the Copyright Board Of America decided that the amount publishers and writers get from each download is to stay at 9cents. The board discussed raising the royalties rate to 15c per download, a move that forced Apple to state they would scrap their market leading iTunes store if it stopped making a profit. iTunes serves 85% of the market making it doubtful that any increase to their 99c rate would damage their business.

London Record Store To Remain Open
Meanwhile, my favourite CD shop in the west end has been sold. Sister Ray went into administration back in July but has now been rescued by an unnamed independent individual who has “music retail experience”. The W1 premises will apparently stay put and all staff will keep their jobs. The new owner has a lot to do to keep this business floating amid strong competition for the last remaining hard-copy music buyers.

Dirty Pretty Split

Dirty Pretty Things have announced their split, after completing their tour this month.

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The Rascals photograph by Jade Lloyd-Prest.

After blagging our way onto the guest list of what should have been a closed venue, what we were party to was nothing short of the best night of my life!

Just 3 hours earlier this very same band played to a sold out Islington Academy as part of MTV’s Brand Spanking New Music. The Rascals delivered song after song after song of unfailing energy with every chord, strum and beat delivered with such unrivalled energy.

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Xfm tonight published an apology after their article describing the trouble Black Kids were having with producer Bernard Butler.

Butler is producing the Florida band’s debut album. Butler has worked with a wide range or artists from The Libertines and Cajun Dance Party to The Pretenders and The View.

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Soaked wet through from someone’s beer and someone else’s sweat. You stink. The only thing holding you to the floor as Guillemots storm through Trains To Brazil is seven years of forgotten chewing gum and stale beer.

It’s the same every night but that has never bothered the 2000 strong fans that flood Astoria to see the likes of Nirvana, Rolling Stones, The Jam, The Libertines.

Sadly sentiment alone wont save this venue as Ken Livingstone confirmed this week that Astoria will be demolished to make way for new rail network Crossrail.

Recently I’ve been lucky to see The View/Metros play storming sets there to a sold out crowd.

It will be a sad day when this place gets demolished.