Brit Awards 2010
It was all about the ‘fame monster’ Gaga wasn’t it really, and so, in turn, is today’s coverage. The British music industry chose to award the 23-year-old, whose “Poker Face” single was the biggest-selling song of 2009, with the gongs for International Breakthrough; International Female Solo Artist; and International Album and you can read more in The Guardian HERE; Independent HERE; Times HERE; and Telegraph HERE.
Here’s the rest of the night’s wins:
British male solo artist Dizzee Rascal
British female solo artist Lily Allen
British breakthrough act JLS
British group Kasabian
British Album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, Kasabian
British single Beat Again, JLS
International male solo artist Jay-Z
International female solo artist Lady GaGa
International breakthrough act Lady Gaga
International album The Fame, Lady GaGa
British producer Paul Epworth
Critics’ choice Ellie Goulding
Outstanding contribution to music Robbie Williams
Best Brits performance of its 30-year history Spice Girls, (1997) “Wannabe”/”Who Do You Think You Are?”
Best Brits album of 30 years (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, Oasis
Tech
Google is being threatened with legal action over the launch of its new social network, Google Buzz, amid furious claims that the service breaches users’ privacy. A week after launching the service with great fanfare and with high hopes that it could lure internet users’ attention away from Facebook and Twitter, Google finds itself embroiled in a technical and public relations nightmare. The pioneering internet company again apologised to users yesterday, and said it was working round the clock to roll out additional alterations to Buzz, on top of emergency changes imposed late last week and over the weekend.
Users revolted when they realised that their contacts could now see who they had been emailing – something that could reveal everything from private business relationships to romantic affairs. Shelly Palmer, founder of Advanced Media Ventures, has said:
“Anyone who understands the Google mindset could not have expected them to get this right… Everywhere they go, they try to apply mechanistic efficiency. They looked at Facebook and said, ‘You have to invite people? How ridiculous! We’ll just look at who you email most and hook up those people right now.’ This wasn’t a malicious attack on your privacy. It was just Google’s attempt to create a social network with no fuss.” More in The Guardian HERE; Independent HERE; and Telegraph HERE.
Broadcasting
SeeSaw, a new television streaming service launches online today, bringing together shows from the BBC, Channel 4 and Five on a single site. SeeSaw went live with more than 3,000 hours of content and, unlike services such as BBC’s iPlayer or Channel 4′s 4oD, which broadcast their own content, has partnerships with BBC Worldwide, Channel 4, Five and independent companies who produce shows for ITV. John Keeling, the controller of SeeSaw, said:
“It’s like having an enormous buffet. You can either just snack on it and catch up on what you’ve missed, or gorge yourself with an entire season. It’s absolutely at your fingertips and your control.”
SeeSaw is currently free and funded by advertising revenue but in future it will introduce a pay-per-view service for top US dramas and other premium content. More in The Guardian HERE; Independent HERE; and Telegraph HERE.
The BBC has been accused of having a “total sense of humour failure” after banning its political editor, Nick Robinson, and other senior journalists from taking part in one of the corporation’s own entertainment programmes. The extraordinary situation relates to “The Bubble”, a new show whose format involves three comedians being cut off from the news for several days in a country house with no access to any media and then being asked to distinguish between authentic and fake news items. Both ITV News and Sky News have been happy to co-operate with BBC the series and supply it with news footage. The only BBC footage to appear will be archive material, even though the series is supposed to reflect stories of the week.
A spokesman for BBC News has said:
“We are sure The Bubble on BBC Two will be extremely funny but BBC journalists will leave it to the comedians to do the comedy.” More in The Independent HERE.
Advertising
The Advertising Standards Authority have today ruled that eight TV adverts shown during an episode of Sherlock Holmes were “excessively strident” and breached the sound levels code. This followed a complaint from a viewer that the adverts were excessively noisy compared to the surrounding programme material, reflecting a long-standing issue for some TV watchers.
The ASA upheld the viewer’s complaint, saying the volume was “not well matched to the overall sound levels of the programme” but has also noted that complaints about noisy advertisements have gone down since rules were tightened up two years ago. More in the Guardian HERE; and Independent HERE.
Music
Sir Paul McCartney has told of his hopes that the famous Abbey Road Studios could be saved after reportedly being put up for sale by owner EMI. Sir Paul, who recorded most of the Beatles’ songs at Abbey Road, told BBC’s Newsnight:
“There are a few people who have been associated with the studio for a long time who were talking about mounting some bid to save it… I sympathise with them. I hope they can do something, it’d be great.
EMI – which counts Robbie Williams and Coldplay among its artists – posted a £1.75 billion loss for the year to March 2009 in accounts earlier this month. Recent recording advances and cheaper overseas studio facilities have added competitive pressure to Abbey Road and a sale of the studios would raise much needed cash for its struggling owner. More in The Guardian HERE; Independent HERE; and Telegraph HERE.
