A-Ha play for Utøya

Oslo is hosting a major national event today as a memorial for those killed in the Utøya and Oslo attacks last month. As part of the memorial, A-Ha will be performing, and their official statement as to why they got involved is worth sharing:

On 22 July, we, like everyone else in Norway and the rest of the world, were shaken to the soul by these actions of cruelty and violent provocation against everything we stand for.

We are also very proud to belong to a small country where people, politicians and the royal family worked together and showed solidarity in the face of such tragedy, and we are grateful to be asked to participate in the memorial ceremony.

We do this to honor those who have been torn away, to show appreciation to everyone who made an effort to help on July 22, and to express our sympathy to the survivors who now are left in sorrow."

Schooly D pulled in to Norwegian slaughter

What's the difference between Schooly D and Melanie Phillips?

Where Mel was approvingly included in Anders Breivik's moronfesto, Schooly D's lyrics turn up as an example of what is bad about hip-hop. Phawker explains:

Breivik includes a slightly bastardized version of John P McWhorter’s 2003 anti-rap diatribe How Hip-Hop Holds Blacks Back, which singles out a few of the most sensational lines from Schooly D’s proto-gangsta rap classic “PSK What Does It Mean?” to illustrate the toxicity of hip-hop.

Breivik, naturally, is bending his evidence to fit his worldview, and doesn't include the lines where D realises guns are bad, and turns to rapping instead.

Schooly D is going to make an official statement next week, but Phawker sums it all up rather nicely:

If we were in his shoes we would say this: I am not interested in lectures about the negative effect of rap lyrics on society from mass murderers. Period. End of story.

EMI miss point of survey, again

There are reasons for approaching the survey suggesting that people who take music for free off the internet also buy lots of music with a degree of caution: it's a fairly small sample, much of the explanation for how the study works is in Norwegian; you might posit that nobody wants to be seen as a freeloader and, thus, people who download for free might overstate their purchasing on other occasions.

EMI, though, have decided to rubbish its findings by a more direct route of both misrepresenting and misunderstanding it at the same time:

EMI's Bjørn Rogstad told Aftenposten that the results make it seem like free downloads stimulate pay downloads, but there's no way to know for sure. "There is one thing we are not going away, and it is the consumption of music increases, while revenue declines. It can not be explained in any way other than that the illegal downloading is over the legal sale of music," Rogstad said.

But the survey doesn't make the suggestion that free stimulates paid - it merely tabulates that people who take some tracks will tend to be ten times more likely to be buying others.

And isn't Rogstad's open-minded assumption that consumption rising, revenue falling can only be explained by illegal activity, rather than a fundamental shift in how the market works and a drop in the per unit value of a tune.

"Here" they said "is some evidence that the people you deride as thieves are actually your best customers." And EMI couldn't even bring themselves to think what that might mean, and instead wailed about piracy.

That was no pirate, that was your best customer

Other surveys have found similar results, of course, and this one only covers Norway, but even so: people who download free music (both legal and unlicensed) are much more likely to buy music, too:

In fact, among all 1,901 Norway-based study participants (all of whom were over the age of 15), it was found that those who downloaded "free" music were 10x more likely to download pay music. In other words, music pirates are the music industry's largest online consumers.

It's an awkward problem for the music industry - the people whom it blames for destroying its business are actually the ones who are doing the most to keep it alive. If the IFPI got its dream of throwing all unlicensed music listeners into chokey, it might find that its revenues tank as the former customer base stop buying downloads and transfer spare cash into razorblades, toothbrushes and snout.

[Thanks to Gary W]

Norway ISP: Copyright control is for copyright controllers

The RIAA's pretend international body, the IFPI, and a couple of Norwegian movies rights holders clubs, have been trying to force Telenor, the Norwegian ISP, to allow them to decide where people can go online.

Telenor have told the IFPI that it's not going to:

In Telenor's opinion, ISPs are not complicit in the actions of its customers on the Internet. "We comply with all relevant laws and regulations and can see no legal basis for any ISP to act in the interests of digital intellectual property rights holders by blocking individual websites," says Ragnar Kårhus, head of Telenor Norway. "Asking an ISP to control and assess what Internet users can and cannot download is just as wrong as asking the post office to open and read letters and decide what should and should not be delivered."

"This is by no means a new issue, and it applies to the entire Western knowledge-based economy. Telenor sympathises with intellectual property rights holders whose content has been illegally distributed, but in our opinion, it is wrong to claim an ISP is liable for any illegal activity by its users on the Internet," says Ragnar Kårhus.

Having slapped the IFPI down, Telenor then points out that the labels might want to think more about the market they operate in now than spending time telling other companies what they should be doing:

The problem is that the business model for selling digital content is in many ways old-fashioned and has not adapted to the reality of the Internet. The problem is not the ISPs, rather the rights holders themselves. Telenor is of the opinion it is the rights holder's job to develop sustainable business models for content delivery over the Internet. It is possible to do this effectively, as proven by global successes in this area including iTunes and Telenor's own music downloading service. The enormous market for downloading ringtones and games to mobile telephones are other examples of people's willingness to pay for digital content if the business model is right.

"Our experience is that people are willing to pay for legal content on the Internet, if the price and availability are good, and the quality and user experience are right," says Ragnar Kårhus.

Don't you love Scandinavians?

Winehouse No, No, Norway

Amy Winehouse's appeal against her dope charges in Norway has been put on hold after her lawyer won a postponement:

Ole Kvelstad, successfully filed a petition to postpone the hearing, in Bergen, for the moment.

He argued that Norwegian police had failed to make adequate arrangements for Mr Fielder-Civil to appear.

Mr. Fielder-Civil's appearance, of course, is tricky as he's due in a British court on the day the appeal was originally due.

Whiz-bang Uppers, Downers, Is screaming

The Norwegian answer to the Brits, the Spelleman awards, for 2007 have just been announced:

KVINNELIG ARTIST
Susanne Sundfør - Susanne Sundfør (Your Favourite Music)

MANNLIG ARTIST
Magnet - The Simple Life (Sony BMG)

POPGRUPPE
Superfamily - Warszawa (Propeller Rec.)

ELEKTRONIKA
Salvatore - Days Of Rage (Racing Junior)

SAMTIDSMUSIKK
Kari Rønnekleiv - Ole-Henrik Moe: Ciaccona/3 Persephone Perceptions (Rune Grammofon)

ROCK
My Midnight Creeps - Histamin (MMC Records)

BLUES
Grande - Uppers, Downers, Screamers & Howlers (Fabuloso Records)

COUNTRY
Hellbillies - Spissrotgang (EMI Music Norway)

METAL
Mayhem - Ordo Ad Chao (Season Of Mist)

HIP-HOP
Madcon - So Dark The Con Of Man (Bonnier Amigo)

FOLKEMUSIKK/GAMMALDANS
Sigrid Moldestad - Taus (Heilo)

DANSEORKESTER
Anne Nørdsti - Livli’ På Låven (Tylden & Co)

JAZZ
Petter Wettre - Fountain Of Youth (Household Records)

KLASSISK MUSIKK
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra - Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet (Bis Records AB)

VISER
Henning Kvitnes - Stemmer I Gresset (Bonnier Amigo/Scandicana)

ÅPEN KLASSE
Live Maria Roggen - Circuit Songs (Jazzland)

BARNEPLATE
Rasmus Og Verdens Beste Band - Kyssing E Hæsli… (MBN)

ÅRETS MUSIKKVIDEO
Dimmu Borgir - The Serpentine Offering (Nuclear Blast) Regi: Patrick Ullaeus

ÅRETS NYKOMMER
Tine Thing Helseth - Haydn/Hummel/Albinoni/Neruda (Simax Classics)

ÅRETS HIT
Madcon - “Beggin’” (Bonnier Music)

ÅRETS SPELLEMANN
Hellbillies

HEDERSPRIS
Dum Dum Boys

BRANSJEPRIS
Rolv Løvland

As our Norwegian is a little patchy, we've got the results translated by an online service for us. We're not sure it helps:

FEMALE Circus performer
Susanne Sundfør Susanne Sundfør (Your Favourite Music)Â

MALE Circus performer
Magnetic tape In spite of the fact that Common Life (Sony BMG)

POPGRUPPE
Superfamily Warshaw (Propeller Rec.)

Electronics
Salvatore Days Shame Rage (Racing June)Â

SAMTIDSMUSIKK
Caribbean Rønnekleiv Ole- Execute Moe: Ciaccona/3 Persephone Perceptions ( the runes Gramophone)

ROCK
My Midnight Creeps Histamin (MMC Juxtaposition)

BLUES
Whiz-bang Uppers, Downers, Is screaming & Howlers (Fabuloso Juxtaposition)

COUNTRY
Hellbillies Spissrotgang (EMI Music Norway)

METAL
Mayhem Ordo Ad Chao (Season Shame Shrewd idea)

HIP-HOP
Madcon So Dark In spite of the fact that Con Shame They (Bonnier Amigo)

FOLKEMUSIKK/GAMMALDANS
Sigrid Moldestad Mute (Heilo)

DANSEORKESTER
Annex Nørdsti Animated’ PÃ¥ LÃ¥ven (Tylden & Co)

JAZZ
Petter Wettre Fountain Shame Youth (Household Juxtaposition)

CLASSIC Music
Mountains Philharmonic Orchestra Prokofiev: Roman & July (Bis Juxtaposition AB)

demonstrate
Her Cheep Figures IN Grass (Bonnier Amigo/Scandicana)

Ã…PEN Bunch
Live Maria Roggen Is not circulating Songs (Jazzland)

Care of young children
Rasmus And World's Best Bandage Kiss VERY MUCH TO THE POINT Hæsli… (MBN)

Ã…RETS MUSIKKVIDEO
Dimmu Citizen In spite of the fact that Serpentine Sacrifice (Nuclear Sophisticated) region Cartridge Ullaeus

Ã…RETS Newcomer
Tine The rarity Health Haydn/ Lobster/Albinoni/Neruda (Simax The schoolfellow)

Ã…RETS Does not hit
Madcon “Beggin’” (Bonnier Music)

Ã…RETS SPELLEMANN
Hellbillies

HEDERSPRIS
Crazily Crazily Boys

BRANSJEPRIS
Rolv Løvland

Congratulations to Crazily Crazily Boys!

[Tip from DJ Martian]

Punish Winehouse for drug use? The Norwegian would...

As if her legal troubles in Britain weren't bad enough, now the Norwegian drug possession case which everyone thought had been settled through a swift fine payment is flaring up again: she's been summoned to appear before a Norwegian court in February. Assuming, of course, she's not already having to deal with fall-out from the whole Blake-perverting-justice business. Nobody seems entirely sure why the Norwegian court wants Winehouse back, but we bet Bergen can't wait for the economic miniboost of the paparazzos and journos turning up en masse.

Winehouse hopes "stupidity" plea might get her into US

Amy Winehouse has realised that her marijuana conviction in Norway might prove something of a stumbling block if she wants to get into the US to, you know, build an audience and stuff.

So, she's appealing. But, since she had fessed up and paid a fine, she might seem a little short of grounds to appeal.

So, erm, she's pretending that she didn't realise that paying the fine was an admission of guilt.

That raises the question of, if she didn't think she was giving the money and saying "it's a fair cop guv", what did she think the money was for? Did she think she was paying for board and lodging? Or did she assume it was a bribe?

Now she is going to appeal the fine, saying she was interrogated without legal representation or an interpreter and did not fully comprehend the Norwegian language charges she was signing, The Associated Press reports.

Hmm. Why, if you didn't know what the papers were, did you sign them, then? Of course, it's possible that there was a terrible miscarriage of justice, but the hanging question is: if Winehouse was surrounded by people speaking only Norwegian, how did she know the correct amount of cash to pay for the fine?

If the appeal is successful, she could face a full trial for possession of illegal drugs - which, if she loses (possibly on the grounds of having admitted guilt and paid a fine, for example) could see her spending up to six months in an Oslo prison. The good news for Winehouse is that, according to the EU, the Norwegian supreme court is taking a more lenient view of possession for personal use these days than it has historically. It's still a hell of a risk, though.

Winehouse outed herself

Down in the comments section on Winehouse's arrest in Norway, there's been some speculation as to how the cops knew she was in possession.

According to this morning's Victoria Newton page, she more-or-less gave herself away:

Insiders say she was so incoherent that cops refused to interview her until 11pm. Then they kept her overnight for her own safety in a tiny cell with a concrete bed.

A source said: "They are very strict about drug taking in Norway. With her past record they thought there was more than just a couple of spliffs. When she opened the hotel room door it was obvious she was wasted. She was mumbling and no one could understand her.

"Amy and Blake were put in separate cells but Amy couldn’t be interviewed straight away because she was totally incoherent.

"She was co-operative and even let an officer in training look in her eyes so he could recognise how a person high on drugs looks."

Trouble is, Norway have now embarked on arresting anyone with a beehive as greenhorn cops have decided that spraying and backcombing must be a sign. Mari Wilson has been advised to avoid Bergen at all costs.

Amy ramps up the Pete Dohertys

As she moves to become the female Pete Doherty ever more, Amy Winehouse has picked up a drug charge. She was arrested and held overnight in Norway on cannabis possession charges; she was released following payment of a five hundred Euro fine.

The curious thing is that arrest followed a tip-off - it seems Amy not might be choosing her friends that wisely.