Kings of A&R

ESSEX FM in the UK has banned James Blunt from their rotation. While they say they support his music and are happy for his success, they are sick of hearing his songs over and over. With the success of Blunt’s album “Back To Bedlam” selling over 7 million copies and the single “You’re Beautiful” topping charts in 25 countries, this is a classic case of overexposure. Programmer for the station, Chris Cotton, credits label pressure for some singles getting so much airplay, “Often this can be out of step with the audience’s tastes, which results in songs being overplayed. We’re happy to stand up to this pressure and follow the strong message listeners have given us.”  ESSEX FM encourages other stations to pay more attention to what their listeners want rather than the labels, and with all the payola scandals in the headlines, who knows if it will actually happen.

American Idol judge Simon Cowell has criticized Prince after being shocked by the effemenite pop superstar’s surprise performance at the show’s finale last week. Prince took  the stage at the Kodak Theatre for a quick run through two new songs before dashing off, refusing to meet the Idol contestants or greet the audience. Idol host Ryan Seacrest has since reported that he feared Prince would be a no-show - because he appeared just minutes before he was due to hit the stage. And Cowell insists Prince’s attitude isn’t one he’d like Idol winners to display at any time in their career. He says, “It just tells you how selfish he is. He comes on, not a word - ‘I’m not gonna sing with anybody else, I’m not gonna say goodbye.’ Thank you for your generosity, Prince.”

Rapper SWORDZ continues to make noise selling over 6k copies of his WRNR Mixtape in the southeast. The Mixtape is Hosted by XM Radio’s Newest Record Breaker “Bigga Rankin”. “Eye’s on the Beam” featuring Wayne Wonder is getting spins in Jamaica, The UK as well in the Southeast US. New single “Dope Bwoy” featuring Rick Ross (Def Jam) is gaining Anthem Status in Southeast. Swordz will be showcasing for already confirmed Major Labels at the Jacksonville Hip Hop Symposium Pre Party on June 9th and then will be speaking on the Hip Hop Symposium panel on June 10th. For more Information please contact DMD Management

Indie electronic band, Pleasure Technicians will be showcasing at Sin-E in NYC on June 15. They recently released a new album called Help Is On The Way, which is picking up radio spins across the country. For more information contact Tom Demagall