WELCOME TO MY BLOG. First things first, find out about me, my company, my writing and my talking. Then read some stuff I wrote about music, media and PR, the law and words, or some updates on my various projects. And if you so wish, you can check me out on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Linked-In. Hurrah!
Some old-time Bedlam thoughts

Some old-time Bedlam thoughts

11 February 2015

I help run the alumni association for those who spent some or possibly all of their Edinburgh University days in the Bedlam Theatre...

Christmas wishes for the independent music sector

Christmas wishes for the independent music sector

19 December 2014

The guys at The Hub have put together a little pre-Christmas video asking various music industry people what gift the independent music community...

Setting up and running a small (media) business

Setting up and running a small (media) business

17 October 2014

Earlier this year I answered a list of questions about setting up and running a company for a website called Junior Start-Ups. As...

The Scottish referendum: It's all about uncertainty. And the constitution.

The Scottish referendum: It's all about uncertainty. And the constitution.

17 September 2014

By the time the final result is announced on Friday morning, I think we’ll have all endured two weeks of back-to-back wall-to-wall non-stop...

It's all in the stream: YouTube v the indies, and streaming in the charts

It's all in the stream: YouTube v the indies, and streaming in the charts

10 September 2014

Earlier this summer I did an interview with freelance journalist Teguh Wicaksono who was researching a piece on the state of the music...

An end of the Fringe blog

An end of the Fringe blog

25 August 2014

OK, so how can it possibly be the end of the Edinburgh Fringe already? I’m pretty sure there were pledges about blogging live...

How ThreeWeeks is different this year... and why

How ThreeWeeks is different this year... and why

9 August 2014

So, I’ve promised myself that I’ll blog a little from the Edinburgh Festival this August, because most years when one or another of...

It's Un-Convention this weekend: Build a fanbase and take control of your destiny

It's Un-Convention this weekend: Build a fanbase and take control of your destiny

17 July 2014

So, I'm currently writing things in the pop mecca that is Holmes Chapel (well, it's the home of Harry Styles). Partly because of a...

‘The right to be forgotten’ concerns me, but at least I can now pass the buck – “that’ll be Google’s problem”

‘The right to be forgotten’ concerns me, but at least I can now pass the buck – “that’ll be Google’s problem”

3 July 2014

The old PR mantra when you had a celebrity client in the process of being destroyed in the newspapers was “today’s news is...

Look! (No, actually listen!) We revamped our podcast!

Look! (No, actually listen!) We revamped our podcast!

27 June 2014

We first launched the CMU podcast way back in January 2011, mainly because Andy Malt and I fancied chatting about the music business...

As YouTube takes on the labels, what's at stake?

As YouTube takes on the labels, what's at stake?

18 June 2014

So, it seems that YouTube is preparing to call the collective bluff of the world's independent record labels and will block their content...

The CMU podcast is coming back - and this time live!

The CMU podcast is coming back - and this time live!

10 June 2014

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, members of the jury, you at the back, the hard working peoples of the business of music,...

Why can't the PR business agree on a name?

Why can't the PR business agree on a name?

3 June 2014

So, a brand new intake of Taylor Bennett Foundation trainees joined us last week, and I've been busy going through my 'PR basics'...

My ten tips for early-career artists

My ten tips for early-career artists

27 May 2014

One very last Great Escape related post, before I clear the decks to waffle at length about the impending Edinburgh Fringe. Once again on...

Getting some Tru Thoughts from Rob Luis

Getting some Tru Thoughts from Rob Luis

20 May 2014

I'm still recovering from all that Great Escape madness, and digesting all the insights shared by the long line of inspiring music business...

What a weekend! My Great Escape keynotes

What a weekend! My Great Escape keynotes

13 May 2014

So that, then, was The Great Escape 2014. Wow. So brilliant, but oh so tiring! And so much time spent on stage this...

See you in Brighton?

See you in Brighton?

6 May 2014

So the aforementioned Great Escape is now very close indeed - making this the third busiest week of my year (after Weeks 0 and...

A Great Escape? Bring it on!

A Great Escape? Bring it on!

29 April 2014

So The Great Escape is now very much on the horizon, Europe's leading festival for new music and the UK's biggest music industry...

MusicTank on 'The Artist Economics Of Streaming'

MusicTank on 'The Artist Economics Of Streaming'

22 April 2014

MusicTank panel events are usually excellent, but the recent one tackling the topic of streaming royalties, and especially what monies artists are receiving...

From Napster to now: More MegaUpload developments

From Napster to now: More MegaUpload developments

15 April 2014

There are some news stories that I reckon I've written on more than pretty much any other journalist, and most of those are...

The eight dimensions of social media for business

The eight dimensions of social media for business

8 April 2014

If there's one thing the trainees on our Taylor Bennett Foundation programmes quickly discover, it's that a lot of people in PR talk about social...

More cultural diplomacy please: My weekend in Tallinn

More cultural diplomacy please: My weekend in Tallinn

1 April 2014

So, I was in Estonia this weekend just gone for Tallinn Music Week, a fantastic event which is basically The Great Escape of Eastern...

On Stuff: The Hash Symbol

On Stuff: The Hash Symbol

25 March 2014

It's interesting, is it not, that the 'hash-tag' - or #hashtag perhaps - is so named? Given that the term, to describe the...

Please don't send me PDF press releases, thank you

Please don't send me PDF press releases, thank you

18 March 2014

One last press-release-themed post (after this one and this one), and if you follow me on Twitter there's a high chance that you've...

Can you make your 'notes to editors' like Wikipedia please?

Can you make your 'notes to editors' like Wikipedia please?

11 March 2014

So, while covering all sorts of press release gubbins with the latest trainees on the Taylor Bennett Foundation programme in the last few weeks (hence...

Ten tips on writing the perfect press release

Ten tips on writing the perfect press release

4 March 2014

So I've been covering press release writing with the latest batch of  Taylor Bennett Foundation trainees in recent weeks, which has prompted me to...

If skepticism is good, why are conspiracy theories

If skepticism is good, why are conspiracy theories "bullshit"?

25 February 2014

I've been watching an awful lot of 'Penn & Teller: Bullshit' this last couple of months, having discovered pretty much all of the...

All hail the (good) cover version (plus eleven great covers)

All hail the (good) cover version (plus eleven great covers)

18 February 2014

It was the first ever Fly Awards earlier this month, marking the fifteenth anniversary of the launch of the free monthly music mag,...

Ten career tips for aspiring media types

Ten career tips for aspiring media types

11 February 2014

I am taking part in a panel at the London School Of Economics tonight on careers in the media. I used to do...

One Direction may be the most successful recording artists of 2013, but the Love Hearts are more interesting

One Direction may be the most successful recording artists of 2013, but the Love Hearts are more interesting

4 February 2014

I'm never sure what amazes me more, the endless product extensions that have been secured by the One Direction machine, or quite how...

That time they tried to shut down Six

That time they tried to shut down Six

28 January 2014

Below is a post I originally made to my very old blog back in February 2010, which I promised the marvellous Nick Wallis I would...

On Stuff: Phonology

On Stuff: Phonology

21 January 2014

So, Phonetics is the study of speech sounds. Yes, there are people out there who have dedicated their entire lives to gallantly studying...

Why we launched the CMU Digest service

Why we launched the CMU Digest service

14 January 2014

Earlier this month we launched a new premium service at CMU, called CMU Digest, the first time since 2002 that UnLimited Media has...
  • Some old-time Bedlam thoughts
  • Christmas wishes for the independent music sector
  • Setting up and running a small (media) business
  • The Scottish referendum: It’s all about uncertainty. And the constitution.
  • It’s all in the stream: YouTube v the indies, and streaming in the charts
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