Billy Bragg tells artists to blame major labels not Spotify for ‘paltry’ streaming payments

Billy Bragg has called on artists to take action against record labels, and not companies like Spotify, for the poor rates they get from music streaming services. Services such as Spotify have come under attack recently from artists such as Thom Yorke and more recently Foals, who have rallied against the low royalty rates paid to artists.

The National reveal plans for new ‘raw’ album The National

Aaron Dessner has said that the follow-up to this year's National album Trouble Will Find Me will be "raw" and "simple". Speaking to NME, Dessner explained that the band would like their seventh album to be a reaction to their very "detailed" 2012 LP. "We're actually thinking for the next album we make a very raw, un-produced simple record, that nobody will like!" he said.

Kitchen table belonging to Ian Curtis for sale on eBay

The kitchen table formerly owned Ian Curtis is up for sale on eBay. The item is listed with a £100 reserve price, which has not yet been met. The seller is supplying the wooden table with various documentation, including certificates confirmating its authenticity signed by Curtis' daughter Natalie, Curtis' widow Debbie and the daughter of Curtis' former neighbour, who sold the table eight years ago.

Bruce Springsteen and Roger Waters play benefit show

Bruce Springsteen and Roger Waters were among artists appearing at the Stand Up for Heroes benefit at Madison Square Garden in New York last night [November 6]. During the event, Sprngsteen auctioned a guitar he used to play a three-song set during a charity fundraiser for £155,000.

Eric Clapton and Robert Plant confirmed for Bert Jansch tribute concert

Eric Clapton and Robert Plant are among the artists confirmed for A Celebration of Bert Jansch, a concert to be held at London's Royal Festival Hall on December 3, 2013. The Festival Hall was the venue for Pentangle’s first major performance in 1967 and the group recorded part of their Sweet Child album there in 1968. The original line-up reformed to play at the Royal Festival Hall exactly 40 years later and a Pentangle show there in August 2011 proved to be Jansch’s final performance.

Joni Mitchell: “Free love? It’s a ruse for guys”

Joni Mitchell has spoken out against the Sixties' culture of free love. In an interview published in the new issue of Uncut, Mitchell says "Free love? It's a ruse for guys. There's no such thing. "Look at the rep I got, there was a list of people whose path I crossed... in the Summer Of Love they made me into a love-bandit. "So much for free love. Nobody knows more than me what a ruse that was. That was for guys coming out of Prohibition. It was hard to get laid before that."

Laurie Anderson says Lou Reed ‘wasn’t afraid’ as he died

Laurie Anderson has described Lou Reed's final moments in a moving farewell written for Rolling Stone. Anderson's tribute describes how the couple met and married, and details Reed's ill health over the past two years. It explains that Reed first became sick from treatments of interferon before developing liver cancer and advancing diabetes.

First Look – Ridley Scott’s The Counsellor

There’s a scene in Cormac McCarthy's novel No Country For Old Men, where sheriff Ed Tom Bell and his deputy arrive at the site of a particularly grisly murder. “It’s a mess, ain’t it sheriff?” asks the deputy. Surveying the corpses and the wreck of a burned out SUV, Bell replies, “If it ain’t, it’ll do till a mess gets here.”

Arctic Monkeys announce new tour dates

Arctic Monkeys have announced details of details of an American tour in January and February 2014. The dates include their biggest headline show in the States so far - at New York's Madison Square Garden on February 8. Starting in Miami on January 30, the tour will visit 12 cities in total, ending in Minneapolis on February 14. Deerhunter will provide support for the New York and Boston dates.
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