The Wolfhounds would like their publishing back

Back in 1987, young, fresh-faced band The Wolfhounds signed a deal with Working Music for their publishing. What happened next is a common story of young people being screwed over by a multinational:

By 1989, the company had gone bust and its property – the songs of its contracted artists – were subsumed into Warner Chappell, its parent company.

However, none of The Wolfhounds ever received any payment or statement from either Working Music or Warner Chappell, and instructed their solicitors at the time – Stevens Innocent – to give notice of termination for breach of contract, and to have their song copyrights returned to the authors. Through their own solicitors, Warner Chappell claimed that none of our songs had ever earned any money, despite the fact that we had received payments from the Performing Rights Society for the songs, been played on the radio numerous times and played hundreds of gigs, all of which meant that royalties were coming in. The band has irrefutable documentary proof of this.

As if that wasn't shitty enough, WC have also taken the songwriters' individual names off the copyright.

Because WC don't seem capable of doing the right thing - why would they want to hang so desperately on to publishing rights they claim have never earned a single brass tuppence anyway? - there's a petition calling on them to talk to the band.

Venuewatch: Hare And Hounds

Worrying news from Birmingham, where a flat has been proposed for a building adjacent to the Hare and Hounds.

As we've seen before, there's a tendency for people to build residences right next to venues which have been operating for donkeys', only for the residents to move in and object to that venue "making noise".

Naturally, the Hare And Hounds is worried - they're getting a petition together.

Venuewatch: The Birkbeck Taven

Leyton's Birkbeck Tavern is sitting under the threat of closure, which would result in another small live venue vanishing to make room for flats.

How much of a loss would it be? Here's the Morning Star's James Eagle enthusing over the Whats Cookin' nights, some of which take place at the pub:

"Over the last few years, in London and doubtless beyond, a few venues have been reviving the spirit of the old folk clubs - and rehabilitating the reputation of pub gigs after years of tribute acts and ageing blues bands - with nights that are intimate, welcoming, run for love not profit and, above all, uproarious fun.

What's Cookin' is one such, a labour of love run from a variety of frills-free pubs around the no-nonsense east London suburb of Leytonstone. The music it's dedicated to - country, blues, bluegrass and old-time rock'n'roll - isn't going to grace NME, but it will win the hearts of any doubter who drops in.

The "come in for free, pay what you like" ethos hasn't stopped acts like Billy Childish, Damien Jurado, Emily Barker, Pete Molinari, the Singing Adams or the Southern Tenant Folk Union from turning up to deliver shows that are still talked about."

(If we could just have a sidebar here, the fact that a venue can be pulling in acts like Billy Childish and Pete Molinari and yet be invisible to the NME might explain some of the problems that other venerable institution is having.)

There's a petition online to save the Birkbeck To be honest it should probably have skipped the bit about John Lennon, but is still deserving of your support.

Dead man signs petition

MusicFirst have drawn up a petition calling for American radio to pay royalties for playing tunes. The old view of radio plays - that they were as good as adverts - has been abandoned in a bid to open up a new revenue stream.

And, you'd have to say, there's a strong argument that US radio should pay a fair price for paying music - after all, if everyone else has to pay, there's no real reason why radio stations shouldn't.

What is odd, though, is the list of signatories to the document [pdf document]. For not only did Amy Winehouse make time during her recent trials to sign up, but who's this, a couple of places under James Blunt?


James Brown? How compelling an argument must be that the dead come back to life to endorse it.

[UPDATE: Music First have been in touch to explain that the James Brown who signed the petition is an oboe player with the English Chamber Orchestra, and not the dead James Brown. Which is fair enough. Being an oboe player doesn't disqualify you from signing a petition as far as we know.]