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Saturday, June 7, 2014
Monday, June 2, 2014
What did Lily earn from John Lewis?
25 May 2014 Last updated at 00:41 By Mark Savage BBC News entertainment reporter 
Artists' income from selling records has plummeted in recent years In March, Lily Allen gave a quote that refuses to die.
Keane will have received all of the songwriting royalties from the John Lewis ad 
The John Lewis advert was titled The Bear and The Hare 
Allen won best solo artist at this year's NME Awards 
Tinie Tempah: "An urban, cool brand"
Artists' income from selling records has plummeted in recent years In March, Lily Allen gave a quote that refuses to die."Everyone assumes I made millions from the John Lewis ad," she told Beat Magazine, "but I probably made £8,000."
The only way to profit from the song, she added, was if "some rich kid in Russia asks me to sing it at their birthday party".
"That's how it works."
The interview has since been reported by Digital Spy, repeated in the Telegraph and quoted in a Times' article headlined: "How Lily lifted the lid on what the famous really do to make money."
Allen - whose pithy, no-nonsense interviews are a godsend to newspaper columnists - was undoubtedly exaggerating for comic effect. But she raises the question: What is a hit single worth in 2014?
"Not much, sadly," says Kathy Johnson, a senior tax manager at accountancy firm Saffery Champness.
"Because of downloads and the ability to get hold of a record without paying for it, it's quite difficult to make any money."
Johnson identifies four areas of income for her high-profile clients:
recordingpublishingbranding and sponsorship touringSo, how much could Allen have made from her tie-up with John Lewis?
In the UK, an artist typically gets between 8% and 25% of what you pay for a download or a CD.
Let's say Lily Allen gets the lowest rate. As 99.6% of all singles were sold as downloads last year, that means she received 7.92p every time someone bought Somewhere Only We Know.
According to the BPI, the single was awarded a gold disc in January 2014 - representing 400,000 sales, or £31,680 for Lily Allen.
The song was also included on Now 86, which shifted more than 1.1 million copies to become the UK's best-selling album of 2013.
Allen will also have made money here - but, with 44 songs on the compilation, her share of the proceeds will have been much lower.
Keane will have received all of the songwriting royalties from the John Lewis ad Every time a song gets played in public, the copyright holders get a fee - and that fee can be pretty lucrative.
One play of Somewhere Only We Know on BBC Radio 2 generates £76.20 in royalties. And, according to Radio 2's head of music, a song on the station's playlist gets between "five and 20 plays a week".
But all that money goes to Tim Rice-Oxley, Tom Chaplin, Richard Hughes - better known as Keane - who penned the song's music and lyrics in 2004.
Allen will have received a separate, but lower, performer's royalty via a company called PPL, which distributed £147m to its members in 2012."PPL revenues generated by plays on radio vary widely depending on the station," spokesman Jonathan Morrish told the BBC.
"For example a play on Radio 1 will typically earn around £40. This money is then split between the record company and the performers - both featured and session musicians.
"So what a singer, or any performer, earns even from one play broadcast on Radio 1 varies from recording to recording, depending on how many [musicians] there are on the track."
Allen's record label will also have earned a micro-payment every time Somewhere Only We Know was streamed online.
On Spotify, the average fee is £0.0035 per play. On YouTube, the label gets an extra $2 (£1.18) every 1,000 views if an advert screens before the video.
"The record label then has its own deal with the artists, and some of those deals are unfair," says Tahir Basheer, a partner at leading music law firm Sheridans.
"Some independent labels will say, 'Any income we get, we'll split half-half'. Some of the bigger labels will say, 'It's a royalty stream, so we'll pay you a percentage'.
But, he adds: "Artists can make money and do make money from digital music platforms."
"You've passed the tipping point now. All those micro-transactions adding up become a viable income stream."
The John Lewis advert was titled The Bear and The Hare John Lewis spent £6m on its Christmas campaign, but it is unclear how much of that went towards securing Lily Allen's services.
Contacted by the BBC, the retailer said: "While we don't disclose specific details of our commercial agreements, we can confirm that Lily Allen received a fee for her performance which appeared on our Christmas 2013 TV advertisement."
"We do a lot of these types of deals," says Mr Basheer. "Typically, the sort of questions one should be asking are: What is the marketing budget around this campaign? How long will the campaign be? Are there any other areas of support John Lewis could offer, such as cross-promotion or tour sponsorship?"
"The people negotiating on behalf of the artist should be asking these questions, because then they can assess and negotiate the correct value of the music."
He says Allen's payment may have been reduced because she was returning from a four-year hiatus and did not appear on-screen during the advertisement.
Nonetheless, "that campaign did a whole lot of good for her, outside of a pure fee".
"She launched her album, she got back on the market. There were other less tangible benefits it would have had for her."
Allen won best solo artist at this year's NME Awards "The one part of the music industry that's really booming right now is ticket sales," says Miss Johnson.
"It's the one income that, if you're a good performer, you can guarantee."
Following the release of her album, Sheezus, Allen has a touring schedule that runs until November 2014 - but fans of the John Lewis advert are unlikely to be the pop star's main ticket-buyers.
And what about those Russian birthday parties?
"It can be a way to make a lot of money," Miss Johnson says. "Quite a lot of our artists are doing things like Bar-Mitzvahs, private parties and opening events.
"You can turn up with a minimal production, rock up and do your set. For my client base it's very lucrative."
Tinie Tempah: "An urban, cool brand" So there is money to be made - but musicians can't rely on simply releasing an album any more.
According to Mr Basheer, "the real 'secret sauce' is the artist pushing themselves as a brand in their own right".
"Take Tinie Tempah, for example. He has an urban, cool brand and other brands want to be associated with him.
"The artist is creative by nature - but with the right team, they can turn that creativity into an entertainment business as well."
As for Allen, after paying taxes and fees to her team, it's possible that £8,000 is all that's left.
But the true figure remains Something Only She Knows.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Your pictures: Squares
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Militants attack Somali parliament
24 May 2014 Last updated at 15:22 The BBC's Mark Doyle: "Al-Shabab can hit almost at will"Islamist militants from the al-Shabab movement have attacked the Somali parliament in Mogadishu, leaving at least 10 people dead. 
Somali soldiers took up positions around the parliament building as MPs were evacuated 
Security forces returned fire as the militants attacked the front of the parliament building 
African Union troops joined Somali soldiers in trying to repel the attack 
Al-Shabab were pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011 but are still able to mount attacks in the Somali capital
Explosions and gunfire were heard and witnesses reported seeing bodies.
Somali police were joined by African Union troops as they engaged the attackers.
Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, once controlled large areas of Somalia but was pushed out of major cities in 2011 and 2012.
However, it is still able to mount complex attacks. It has frequently targeted the UN-backed parliament.
A car bomb exploded outside the gates of parliament shortly before midday local time (09:00 GMT), followed by more blasts and bursts of gunfire.
The attackers then stormed the front of the parliament building as security forces fired back.
"Fighting is going on inside the parliament building and we are fighting rebels inside the building but we evacuated members of parliament," Col Mahamed Dahir said.
At least four police officers and several militants were reported killed. Eyewitnesses saw a number of bodies in military fatigues but could not confirm whether they were members of the security forces.
Two MPs were reportedly wounded in the attack as they were taken out of the back of the building.
Somali soldiers took up positions around the parliament building as MPs were evacuated Security forces returned fire as the militants attacked the front of the parliament building African Union troops joined Somali soldiers in trying to repel the attack "The enemy can now access everywhere," MP Mohamed Nor told Associated Press, criticising the army's failure to protect parliament.
An al-Shabab spokesman told the AFP news agency: "The so-called Somali parliament is a military zone. Our fighters are there to carry out a holy operation."
African Union (AU) troops from the 22,000-strong Amisom security force joined the Somali army in fighting the insurgents around parliament, an Amisom spokesman said.
Analysis by Mark Doyle, BBC World Affairs correspondent
Al-Shabab were pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011 but are still able to mount attacks in the Somali capital Spectacular attacks on prestige targets attract attention - that's part of their purpose for al-Shabab. But they're just the tip of the iceberg. I've visited Somalia with African Union forces - Amisom - three times in the past year. There were smaller attacks by al-Shabab almost every single day I was there.
The African Union soldiers seek to dismiss these as mere 'harassment' of their garrisons. But these probing attacks - sometimes roadside bombs, sometimes sniper fire - pin the troops down. This is asymmetric warfare and it costs the African Union blood and equipment.
In the past three years Amisom has made significant military advances, pushing al-Shabab out of its fixed positions in Mogadishu and retaking major towns such as Kismayo and Baidoa.
But al-Shabab has the capacity to keep coming back. It is generally accepted in Somalia that if Amisom - with US backing - was not there, the government in Mogadishu would almost certainly fall.
The UN envoy to Somalia Nicholas Kay said he was "horrified" by the attack and paid tribute to the response of Somali and African Union forces.
Somalia has experienced almost constant conflict since its government collapsed in 1991.
With Mogadishu and other towns now under government control, basic services such as street lighting and rubbish collection have now resumed.
Many Somalis have returned from exile, bringing their money and skills with them.
The parliament in Mogadishu - which operated as a transitional assembly from 2004 to 2012 - has been attacked several times, including in 2009 and 2010.
Last month, a Somali parliamentarian was blown up and another shot dead in separate attacks.
In February, al-Shabab militants attacked the presidential palace in Mogadishu, leaving at least 16 people dead.
Al-Shabab, whose name means "The Youth" in Arabic, advocates the strict Saudi-inspired Wahhabi version of Islam.
Are you in the area? Do you have any information to share? Send us your comments. You can email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line 'Mogadishu'.
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How reliable are medical research checks?
24 May 2014 Last updated at 04:15 By Gabriela Torres BBC Mundo health reporter 
Research into statin drugs is the latest to trigger concern Recent controversy over figures used in the British Medical Journal which were later withdrawn renewed questions over the peer review system - the way medical studies are checked prior to publication.
Research is reviewed by others before publication 
Not all data is shown to reviewers
Research into statin drugs is the latest to trigger concern Recent controversy over figures used in the British Medical Journal which were later withdrawn renewed questions over the peer review system - the way medical studies are checked prior to publication.The BMJ is now investigating two articles that claimed statins, used to reduce cholesterol, could cause harmful side effects in 18-20% of people who took them.
However, it was later discovered that this figure was unreliable - and scientists are still debating what the true level is.
The flaw in the studies was not picked up when they were assessed for publication.
The system used to check papers before they appear in journals is called peer review.
It is a way of validating their work through the scrutiny of the methodology that was used by other experts.
'Worst punishment'But things do go wrong, and the statins debate is not an isolated case.
It reflects an increasing problem in the scientific community: a dramatic increase in the number of papers retracted - or taken back - by journals.When a paper is retracted, it means that the research has so many flaws that it has to be withdrawn by the publications in question. Many consider this action as the worst punishment for a scientist.
In recent years the number of retractions has increased dramatically - in 2000 there were 30 but in 2010 this number had risen to 400.
However, the number of studies published increased by only 44% in that period, according to the journal Nature.
This has serious implications for science.
Although these retractions still represent less than 2% of what is published each year - around 30,000 studies - the way the scientific community works amplifies the impact of any mistakes.
Researchers base their new studies on previously published work, which means that one paper with flaws can influence dozens of others, whose work will then be used by many others before someone spots the mistake.
Research is reviewed by others before publication To some, the large increase in retractions is not particularly surprising.
"It could be, as we and others have argued, a good thing and a sign that science is interested in putting the record straight," says Ivan Oransky, editorial director of the US-based organisation MedPage Today.
"That being said, it is often very difficult for critics to get editors to take their concerns seriously, and retractions are taking longer and longer. So it's a complex story," he adds.
Japanese scientist Haruko Obokata became something of a celebrity last January after publishing a study on stem cells.It was supposed to be a ground-breaking discovery, but turned out to be a case of fraud.
Ms Obakata's work had passed peer review.
But as soon as another research team tried to replicate Obokata's work, it became evident that there had been an "inappropriate handling of the data".
She has recently been found guilty of misconduct.
Replication"Science relies on others to replicate the work, it doesn't necessarily have to be exactly the same, but in a way that guarantees that other results can be replicable," Nigel Hooper, professor of biochemistry School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, told BBC Mundo.
"We don't go out there and ask someone to repeat the study; the replication is a natural part of the scientific process," he adds.
Damian Pattison, executive director of the PLOS One journal, says: "The thing is that peer reviews aren't exempt from problems.
"It is very difficult to understand what's going on in a paper, unless you see all the data.
"And the problem is that in the majority of cases, the scientists don't include all the data in their report.
"So there may be many reasons why a study may have a good peer review and later it turns out that it is unreliable."
'Selective' presentationDr Elizabeth Iorns, a cancer biologist and CEO of Science Exchange (where scientists can share information), says the literature often does not correct itself.
She believes that the peer review system has several issues, with each reviewer expected to assess a publication that contains data generated by a team of researchers with highly specialised backgrounds.
The individual peer reviewer may not have expertise in all of the techniques used, in particular complex statistical analyses.
And she says: "There is evidence that researchers sometimes selectively present data that supports a specific hypothesis.
"This means that reviewers do not have access to all of the data generated from the research study and cannot determine if the information provided accurately represents the complete dataset."
A couple of years ago, Ivan Oransky founded Retraction Watch with science journalist Adam Marcus. The mission of this blog is to highlight cases of retractions, mistakes and corrections.
These journalists have a lot work ahead of them, judging by the study made by Danielle Fanelli, a natural scientist who specialises in the study of scientific misconduct, bias and related issues and a member of the Research Ethics and Bioethics Advisory Committee of the National Research Council in Italy.
Not all data is shown to reviewers According to a study of his, published in 2009 in PLOS One and based on the metadata of several surveys, about 2% of scientists have admitted to falsifying, making up or modifying elements at least once.
And one third confessed to other "questionable practices", including "to have 'modified research results' to improve the outcome, then to have reported results they 'knew to be untrue'."Additionally, more than 70% of scientists say they have witnessed irregular behaviour from their colleagues.
If this is the case, how reliable are the studies published every day? "I can't really answer that question," says Damian Pattinson.
He admits there is an issue with the availability of the data: "We are campaigning to make all the research data available."
Ivan Oransky admits peer review "certainly has its flaws."
But he said: "As Churchill said of democracy, it's the worst possible system except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.
"People have suggested a number of ways to improve peer review.
"One, that we champion, is for journals to embrace post-publication peer review more than they currently do, so that the publishing record really reflects how science works."
Another option, he said, was to make peer review open, not anonymous, in the interests of transparency.
But there is general agreement that, in most cases, flaws in the peer review system are due to human error and have little to do with malpractice.
Belgium boosts security after attack
25 May 2014 Last updated at 00:47 
Police have sealed off streets around the museum in central Brussels Security has been stepped up at Jewish sites across Belgium after a gunman shot dead three people at the Jewish Museum in the capital Brussels.
A fourth victim of the shooting is in a serious condition in hospital 
Police have sealed off streets around the museum in central Brussels Security has been stepped up at Jewish sites across Belgium after a gunman shot dead three people at the Jewish Museum in the capital Brussels.Police are continuing to question one person detained shortly after the attack and a manhunt has been launched for a second suspect.
A fourth victim remains in a critical condition.
The prosecutor's office said the two women and a man were struck by bullets in the face or throat.
Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur said he thought the shooting was probably a "terrorist act".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement strongly condemning the killings which he said were "the result of endless incitement against the Jews and their state".
Belgium has a Jewish population of some 42,000, about half of whom live in the capital.
A fourth victim of the shooting is in a serious condition in hospital Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, who was one of the first people to arrive at the scene, spoke of his shock at seeing two of the victims lying at the entrance to the museum.
"You cannot help think that when we see a Jewish museum, you think of an anti-Semitic act. But the investigation will have to show the causes," he said.
Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said Belgians stood "united... faced with this hateful attack".
He said "everything has been mobilised that can be mobilised" to find the killer.
Interior Minister Joelle Milquet said the attacker parked a car outside before entering the museum.
She said the gunman "apparently fired rather quickly, went outside and left".
The attack happened at around 15:50 local time (13:50 GMT) on Saturday in the busy Sablon area of Brussels, which was hosting a three-day jazz festival.
Ine Van Wymersch, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors office, said one person was detained after he drove away from the museum around the time of the attack.
A second suspect left the area on foot. Ms Van Wymersch said security camera footage was being studied to try to identify the person.
Police have cordoned off several streets around the museum.
Man denies attacking father's killer
24 May 2014 Last updated at 13:12 
Gerard Devlin snr was stabbed to death outside his home in Ballymurphy, west Belfast, in 2006 A west Belfast man has appeared in court accused of attacking his father's killer.
Gerard Devlin snr was stabbed to death outside his home in Ballymurphy, west Belfast, in 2006 A west Belfast man has appeared in court accused of attacking his father's killer. At Belfast Magistrates' Court, Gerard Devlin, 24, was charged with assaulting Francisco Notorantonio and possessing a screwdriver on the Glen Road on 20 May.
In November 2008, Notorantonio, then from Whitecliff Parade, was jailed for 11 years after he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Gerard Devlin snr.
Mr Devlin was stabbed during a fight outside his west Belfast home in 2006.
He died in front of his partner and children.
Four other members of the Notorantonio family were convicted for an offence of affray.
On Saturday, the court was told there was a "long-running dispute" between the families and that at around 15:00 BST last Tuesday, staff at St Theresa's Primary School called the police to report two men fighting outside the school gates.
Ear bittenBoth were later treated in hospital, the court heard - Mr Devlin for an injury to his ear and 27-year-old Notorantonio for stab wounds to his torso and left thigh.
At the scene Notorantonio alleged he had been attacked by Mr Devlin who he said had been armed with a screwdriver, telling officers that he bit his attacker's left ear "to distract him" as he tried to disarm him.
A police officer said police investigations had revealed the incident had been captured on the school's CCTV camera, describing how the footage allegedly depicted Mr Devlin initially attacking Notorantonio's car as it sat in slow-moving traffic, but was "dragged away" by a woman.
Twenty seconds later, he said, Mr Devlin ran back on screen, attacked the car again and it was then that Notorantonio got out and the pair fought for around 10 seconds before members of the public intervened and Devlin ran off.
Arrested and interviewed, Mr Devlin, from the Donegal Road, claimed he had been the victim and was defending himself, but refused to answer questions when the CCTV footage, allegedly in stark contrast to his claims, was put to him.
History of frictionThe officer said police were objecting to bail on the grounds that if released, Mr Devlin could interfere with witnesses, reoffend and not turn up for court appearances.
Mr Devlin's solicitor submitted that given the history of friction between the families, there had been "enhanced allegations being made from both sides" in the past and that with stringent conditions, police concerns could be assuaged.
Refusing the bail application however, a district judge said he was "sadly, aware of the long and alarming history of dispute between these families" but that there was "too high a risk of of further offences" to release him.
He ordered Mr Devlin to appear in court again via video link on 5 June.
