Ed Sheeran's lawyers complain about length of song-theft lawsuit
No one likes reading anymore, do they? These days everyone navigates the world via deliberately misleading headlines, enticing but meaningless statistics and the occasional tweeted pie chart. A trend which amply explains recent political developments. But you know who else doesn't like reading? Ed Sheeran's legal team.

"[This lawsuit] consists of 44 sprawling pages of prolix, repetitive, argumentative and scandalous allegations", say they, responding to the previously reported lawsuit accusing the Sheeran of ripping off Matt Cardle track 'Amazing' for his hit 'Photograph'. 'Prolix', by the way, means "extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length". See, you read something and you learned something. Yay reading!

"It makes sweeping, generalised allegations", Team Sheeran continue, warming to their theme, but running the risk of going all prolix in a bid to explain why the lawsuit filed against their client is far too vague and waffley to deserve a response. The waffle, the lawyers say, runs for "156 paragraphs, some of which go on for pages and contain upwards of 25 or 30 different sentences - against eleven distinct defendants".

As previously reported, it is the writers of 'Amazing' - Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard - who are suing Sheeran, his song-writing pal Johnny McDaid and all their business partners. The litigation is being led by Richard Busch, the lawyer who represented Marvin Gaye's family in the headline-grabbing 'Blurred Lines' song-theft case, in which his side prevailed of course.

However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, lawyers repping Sheeran and co reckon that they can't even respond to the specific allegations made by Busch because his legal complaint is, as previously noted, so bloody prolix. "Responding in any meaningful way ... is impossible", they state. "Nor should eleven different defendants be put to the task and expense of having to draft responses to this massively improper pleading".

Seeking to dismiss Harrington and Leonard's lawsuit, the defence team note a rule that requires plaintiffs provide a "short and plan" statement outlining their complaint. The lawyers then add that Busch needs to be more specific as to what allegations are being made against each of the eleven defendants. And if those moans aren't enough to have the plagiarism suit dismissed, Team Sheeran also point out that most of the people and companies involved in this case are British, so why the hell are you suing in California?

Good question Ed. I'm sure Busch is firing up his laptop as we speak to type out a response. Let's hope it's nice and prolix.

Kesha seeks to keep medical records confidential in ongoing Dr Luke litigation
While many elements of Kesha's multi-layered legal battle with producer Dr Luke have now been dismissed, voluntarily or by the courts, litigation is still ongoing in New York, and now lawyers for the singer have asked a judge to ensure medical records shared as part of the legal proceedings are not made public.

As much previously reported, Kesha Sebert accuses her long-time musical collaborator Lukasz Gottwald of plying her with drugs and alcohol and raping her as a teenager. He denies all of those allegations, and has sued both the singer and her mother for defamation, saying that the accusations were invented in a bid to force his hand in a contractual dispute. It's the contractual dispute that continues.

In a recent court filing, Sebert's lawyers say that she shared various medical records with Gottwald's team as part of the legal battle, but that his lawyers are now refusing to commit to keep those documents confidential. So the singer's team want the judge overseeing the case to issue a protective order to prevent any information in those medical papers from ever being made public.

Sebert's attorney James Pearl wrote in his court filing that his client "has disclosed highly sensitive personal medical records as part of this litigation, and her position as a world-renowned recording artist in whom there is great public interest renders any potential disclosure of those records potentially harmful to her personal and economic interests".

The lawyer goes on: "Ms Sebert now fears that Gottwald will seek to disclose and disseminate her personal medical records in an attempt to embarrass and harass her".

Reps for Gottwald seemingly argue that Kesha waived her right to privacy on these issues by publicly disclosing her "alleged medical diagnoses" and making them part of this legal dispute. But nevetheless, in a statement to Buzzfeed, the producer's lawyers say that they believe it is for the court to decide on what can and can't be made public.

Says lawyer Christine Lepara: "Because Kesha made public accusations and in the case that she was allegedly harmed by Dr Luke, the court ordered her to produce her medical records. Now Kesha wants to hide her records while continuing to make self-serving, selective and misleading statements to hurt my clients publicly. Our position is that the court - and not Kesha's lawyers - should decide whether Kesha's medical information remains confidential given her public disclosures".

The dispute over the medical records will be considered by the judge later this month.

--------------------------------------------------

Man pleads guilty to illegally uploading Top 40 hits
A man from Liverpool has pleaded guilty to distributing Top 40 hits illegally online at Liverpool Crown Court.

As previously reported, Wayne Evans was arrested in September last year, accused of uploading a cappella tracks to his own ad-funded website, DeeJayPortal, as well as bundling each week's Top 40 singles and uploading them to various torrent sites. The arrest was the result of a joint investigation between collecting society PRS For Music and their mates over at the City of London Police's Intellectual Property Crime Unit.

Evans appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, pleading guilty to two charges of distributing an article infringing copyright and one of possessing or controlling an article for use in fraud.

PRS For Music's Head of Litigation, Enforcement And Anti-Piracy, Simon Bourn commented: "Music piracy has a severe impact on the livelihoods of the entire songwriting community. PRS For Music is dedicated to both licensing and protecting our members' rights, as well as enforcing against illegal services that are not willing to work with us towards a legitimate licensed model. We are therefore pleased to see the first conviction from our partnership with PIPCU, and we hope that this sends a message to all those involved in such criminal activity, that this is treated as a serious offence and consequences will follow".

Sentencing is due to take place on 11 Nov.

Merlin opens Japanese office
With Spotify's recent launch there confirming that the streaming revolution is finally underway in Japan, indie label digital rights agency Merlin has announced it has opened a new office in Tokyo which, it says, "significantly expands the organisation's operations in the fast-evolving Asian digital music market".

Merlin's new base will be headed up by Haji Taniguchi, who was previously President of the publishing side of Avex, what is generally seen as the fourth major in the Japanese market. Also working at the Tokyo office will be Kaoruko Hill, who will lead on label and service relations.

Confirming all this, Merlin chief Charles Caldas said: "Merlin was conceived as an outward-looking global organisation, and the Japanese market will be of paramount importance to our international membership. Over recent years, we have also seen a marked increase in members from the Asian territories, while in 2015 Merlin signed its first ever pan-Asian specific deal with KKBOX. For these reasons, the decision to open a Japanese office as an initial step into this region makes strong strategic sense".

He went on: "That we have an executive as experienced as Haji to guide our membership through the idiosyncrasies of the Asian market, and to bring more local labels and distributors under the Merlin umbrella is a perfect combination. I would like to welcome both Haji and Kaoruko to the team, and look forward to years of further growth ahead".

New MDs appointed at management firm ie:music
Artist management firm ie:music has made a number of new appointments, with long-time staff members Dan Medland and Michael Loney being promoted to the roles of joint Managing Directors. Medland is based in Sydney and already runs the company's ie:east division, while Loney is based at the business's London HQ.

The promotions follow the recent death of ie:music co-founder David Enthoven. The company's other founder, Tim Clark, will now become Chairman as part of the rejig, which he says he was able to discuss with Enthoven before he died back in August.

Clark told reporters: "Following the passing in August of our co-founder, David Enthoven, it was important to re-shape the company to ensure we continued to offer the best possible service to the artists we represent. I was fortunate to be able to discuss these decisions with David just before he died. I am delighted that these were joint decisions by my partner and myself and he was so happy that he was able to decide them with me. He was as proud as I am of the fantastic team of people we have at ie:music".

In addition to the new MDs, ie has also confirmed its recent hire of Stephen O'Reilly in the role of Head Of Marketing. Meanwhile Benjamin Wells has also been promoted to the role of MD of robbiewilliams.com, a commercial entity wholly owned by the management firm's most famous client, Robbie Williams.

In addition to Williams, the ie:music roster also includes the likes of Passenger, Will Young, Lily Allen, Lemar and Ladyhawke.

Alicia Keys announces new album
Alicia Keys will release her sixth album, 'Here', on 4 Nov, it has been announced. She accompanied the news with the release of new single 'Blended Family (What You Do For Love)', featuring A$AP Rocky.

"My new song is inspired by my family's personal journey to cultivate deeper understanding, compassion, support and love", says Keys. "To me, family has no singular definition and the modern family is made up of all kinds of beautiful people willing to put love first".

Of the album, she adds: "On this album, I've arrived HERE. A place where I'm willing to truthfully look at myself in the mirror and to also see the reality of who we have become in this world. The good, the ugly, the shadows and the light. I've come to realise that in order for us to grow and to understand and accept each other we have to recognise the complexity of ourselves. We have to be able to talk about it and meet each other where we are, HERE".

Here, you hear? And here, right here, is 'Blended Family (What You Do For Love)'. It's here.

--------------------------------------------------

Enter Shikari release surprise single
Enter Shikari have released a new single, right out of nowhere. 'Hoodwinker' it's called. It's not even on an album or anything. What are they like?

"Every now and then, outside of album releases and their attendant 'campaigns', it's nice to release a song into the wild, out-of-the-blue", says frontman Rou Reynolds. "To bowl it full force at the faces of the general public without prior warning. 'Hoodwinker' is the current incoming projectile".

"It is Enter Shikari angrily calling out your God as an imposter", he continues. "Which I'm afraid he is. I know you thought all the others were imposters and yours was in fact the real one, but I'm afraid he is a phoney too. We have clear evidence of false paperwork and forged documents. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Please enjoy this piece of angry music though. I hope its frustration and righteous indignation will go some way to dampening the annoying news".

Well, here is that piece of music, set to both ruin and enliven your day.

Maximo Park to headline show marking anniversary of Bataclan attack
The Shepherd's Bush Empire in London will host a concert to mark the first anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris last year. Performances will come from Maximo Park, Frank Turner, Gaz Coombes and Fran Healy.

Under the banner A Peaceful Noise, the show will benefit Josh Homme's Sweet Stuff Foundation and the Nick Alexander Memorial Trust. The latter charity, which provides musical equipment to community groups, was set up in memory of music merchandiser Nick Alexander, who was one of the 89 people killed when attackers opened fire at the Paris venue on 15 Nov last year during an Eagles Of Death Metal show.

Alexander's sister Zoe, the founder of A Peaceful Noise, says: "Live music was Nick's passion and it seemed only fitting that we mark the anniversary of his passing in this way. Everyone who lost their lives that night had a shared love of music" she continues, adding that it was great to be able "to bring some of Nick's favourite artists together for this celebration of unity, peace and rock and roll".

Frank Turner adds: "Losing Nick in the horrible events in Paris was the worst part of last year; he was truly one of the good guys. Bringing people together in the spirit of peace and music for an evening is the least we can do for his memory; I'm honoured to be asked to play".

Find more information on the show here.

Johnny Lloyd, Robomagic, Jimmy Eat World, more

Other notable announcements and developments today...

• Former Tribes frontman Johnny Lloyd has signed to Xtra Mile Music, the publishing wing of Xtra Mile Recordings, which - fact fans may be interested to know - is a joint venture with BMG. Which we told you when it launched last year, but I bet you forgot. I don't know why we bother.

• UK live firm Robomagic has confirmed it will co-produce a new offshoot of the New Orleans festival Essence, which is set to launch in Durban, South Africa next month. Robomagic's Rob Hallett will co-produce the new event alongside Ben Moseme of C-Squared Group and Mike Fuller of Famous Concerts.

• Jimmy Eat World have released the lyric video for new single 'You With Me'. I would not lie about something like that.

• Three Trapped Tigers drummer Adam Betts has released another track from his upcoming solo album. This is 'Hero Shit'. He's also announced that he'll play a show to coincide with the release of that album at London's Servant Jazz Quarters on 29 Nov.

• Sälen have put up another new song, 'Copper Kiss'. And they've announced that they will play a headline show at Kamio in London on 19 Oct.

• Parekh & Singh have released another new song, 'Philosophize'. "'Philosophize' was one of the earliest songs we ever wrote," says Nischay Parekh. "It's essentially about how we used to dream about life in the west and feeling a little out of place as a western musician in India".

• Busted will be touring the UK in January and February next year. Here's the video for new single 'On What You're On'.

• If, like me, you'd scheduled four and half minutes in your diary today to review the nominees for this year's Festival Congress Awards, then get yourself over to this webpage. It's where all the cool kids are hanging out. You need to scroll down a bit. But all the cool kids know that.

Death Cab For Cutie contribute song to new anti-Trump project
Death Cab For Cutie have become the first band to contribute to a new project, '30 Days, 30 Songs', which will release a new anti-Donald Trump song each day in the run up to the US presidential election on 8 Nov.

There are so many things you could cover in a song where the remit is to pull apart Trump's poor record on almost everything. DCFC's 'Million Dollar Loan' goes for a comment made early on in his campaign about how he got started in business.

"Lyrically, 'Million Dollar Loan' deals with a particularly tone deaf moment in Donald Trump's ascent to the Republican nomination", says the band's Ben Gibbard. "While campaigning in New Hampshire last year, he attempted to cast himself as a self-made man by claiming he built his fortune with just a 'small loan of a million dollars' from his father".

"Not only has this statement been proven to be wildly untrue, he was so flippant about it", he continues. "It truly disgusted me. Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he is unworthy of the honour and responsibility of being President of the United States Of America, and in no way, shape or form represents what this country truly stands for. He is beneath us".

Find out more about '30 Days, 30 Songs' here, and listen to 'Million Dollar Loan' here.