Other notable announcements and developments today…
• Jennifer Lopez has signed a new deal with Sony’s Epic. Current Epic boss LA Reid tempted Lopez away from the Sony label in 2010 when he was at Universal, so is obviously now “THRILLED” to have secured a brand new partnership between the singer and his current employer.• Soho Music, which works out of, erm, Clerkenwell, and provides sound and audio for brands and film companies, has launched a music publishing division and announced a partnership with Imagem. The latter will provide administration services to the former. The deal also covers any future works by MJ Cole, who is published by Soho Music.
• Curb Records has bought out Warner Music’s stake in Nashville-based Christian music company Word Entertainment, which Warner acquired in 2002 before selling a slice to Curb. Warner will continue to distribute Word releases to the general market, while Word will distribute Warner records to the “Christian market”. Whatever that means.
• Beth Orton will release a new album, ‘Kidsticks’, on 27 May, co-produced by Orton and Fuck Buttons’ Andrew Hung. Here’s first single ‘Moon’.
• Corinne Bailey Rae will release her new album, ‘The Heart Speaks In Whispers’, on 13 May. She’ll headline The Tabernacle in London on 7 Apr, and this is first single ‘Been To The Moon’.
• Vessels have released the video for new track ‘4am’, taken from the upcoming re-issue of their ‘Dilate’ album.
• Susanna has released another new track from her upcoming ‘Triangle’ album. Here’s ‘Ebb & Flow’.
• Rufus Wainwright will play St John At Hackney church in London on 27 Apr. Tickets go on sale on Monday.
• Field Music have announced their biggest headline shows to date. They play The Sage in Gateshead on 22 Oct, Shepherds Bush Empire in London on 26 Oct, and The Ritz in Manchester on 29 Oct.
• Sam Smith, who I am pretty sure I read somewhere was the first openly gay man to use social media, has signed off social media, for now at least, following the furore caused by his Oscars speech at the weekend. Which I think Ian McKellan said makes Smith the first openly gay man to sign off social media, for now at least.