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Posted: 22 Dec 2011 04:45 AM PST

VIENNA: British singer George Michael was discharged from a Vienna hospital on Thursday after weeks of treatment for severe pneumonia, the Oesterreich newspaper reported.

The report on the Austrian paper's website said the 48-year-old former Wham! frontman walked to a waiting limousine that took him to the airport. It cited unidentified hospital staff.

"He will be able to celebrate Christmas at home in London," it said.

A spokeswoman for the Vienna General Hospital declined to comment on the report, referring questions to Michael's public relations agency.

Michael's publicist in London told Reuters the Oesterreich newspaper story was based on rumours.

"Nothing has been confirmed to us -- and we don't know when he will be released ... it could be in the coming weeks," a spokeswoman told Reuters. "There have been lots of rumours in the Austrian press."

Asked if reports were wrong, she declined to comment further.

Michael, whose chart-topping hits as a solo artist include "Faith" and "Careless Whisper" postponed a series of concerts and was taken into hospital in Vienna last month.

The Grammy award-winning singer first found fame in the 1980s with Wham! before going on to pursue a successful solo career. He has sold an estimated 100 million records and has a personal fortune estimated at 90 million pounds.

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Sexy’s back

Posted: 22 Dec 2011 04:08 AM PST

THESE days, stars are as sexy as they come. Yet, some take it to the next level by boasting their swagger and flaunting their all-round good looks, then capitalising on them.

Confidence is vital here, of course, but these stars border on being ridiculously cocky just because they know full well their worth! Still, we love them for it.

So, the steamy cover of Galaxie magazine is Beyoncé's to own and to show all the single ladies out there that being married doesn't stop one from being gorgeous. In fact, in this Dec 17-31 issue, Beyoncé leads a pack of 30, yes 30, hotties to die for!

Coming from all over the industry, be it music, movies, TV or even sports stars, Galaxie rounds up the best eye candies for your drooling pleasure.

Catch up on the inner workings of experienced hotties such as Shakira, Adam Levine, David Beckham and Olivia Wilde as well as fresh-bloods Taylor Lautner, Chris Hemsworth, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Taylor Kinney, among others.

In view of the Christmas season, and because we're in the mood of giving, Galaxie has also prepared a special K-pop pullout with the best and sexiest girl and boy groups from South Korea. Featuring fan favourites such as the Wonder Girls and Super Juniors, this is one pullout every K-pop fan should have. Trust us, you do not want to miss this.

On the features front, Galaxie manages to sit the pretty boys of Hot Chelle Rae down for a little chat on the reason behind their band name and the irony of calling their sophomore album, Whatever. Elsewhere, Gym Class Heroes frontman, Travie McCoy, has finally decided to grow up. But what does that mean?

Find out here, and you can also stand a chance of winning merry little gifts from the many little contests within. Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadow t-shirt and iPhone 4 skins plus New Year's Eve hooded pullover up for grabs. So don't miss out.

Galaxie, owned by Star Publications (M) Bhd and voted Entertainment Magazine Of The Year, is also available online at galaxieblog.com.my for daily celebrity news. For more updates on the magazine, its blog and the entertainment world, follow Galaxie on Twitter (@galaxiemag) and visit its Facebook page (facebook.com/GalaxieMagazine). – JC Lam

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Rights and realities

Posted: 22 Dec 2011 12:07 AM PST

Beyond handing out royalties, the MACP has evolved through the years to keep in touch with the struggles of music-makers and songwriters.

SOMETIMES you just need to clear the air. A fact that most songwriters, lyricists and music publishers fail to understand is that the Music Authors Copyright Protection (MACP) Berhad does not function like a tax collector, nor is it a profit-oriented body.

For the last 22 years, MACP has been operating like a non-profit organisation whose main functions are to license users of music (radio and TV stations, entertainment outlets, shops, online and mobile service providers, etc) and pay the songwriters and publishers when their works are broadcast and publicly performed.

"MACP is like an administrative body which collects and looks after the interests of all composers, lyricists and music publishers, but not singers or record companies," said Chan Miew Lan, MACP's general manager at the MACP head office in Kuala Lumpur recently.

That means: MACP doesn't write cheques for singers even if it's Datuk Siti Nurhaliza who is the No. 1 singer in Malaysia, unless, of course, Siti composes or writes her own lyrics. If you are wondering, who gets the biggest chunk from MACP, currently it is singer-songwriter Yuna, Indonesian songwriter Melly Goeslow, Edry KRU, Datuk M. Nasir, Indonesian group PADI and the likes whose songs are on constant rotation over the radio stations, TV and public places.

"You can apply to become a member when you have at least five works published. We want to encourage new composers and lyricists to sign up as members. Any composers/lyricists are eligible to receive performance and broadcasting rights royalties, not only for works performed in Malaysia, but anywhere around the world where MACP is represented," explained Chan.

According to Chan, MACP has made reciprocal agreements with similar bodies in more than 80 countries all over the world like KOMCA (South Korea), SUISA (Switzerland), PRS (Britain), ASCAP, BMI and SESAC (USA), COMPASS (Singapore), CASH (Hong Kong), IPRS (India), JASRAC (Japan), SOCAN (Canada), APRA (Australia), KCI (Indonesia) and MUST (Chinese, Taipei), to name a few.

"In fact, MACP has entered an agreement with these foreign performing rights societies to represent more than two million international composers, lyricists and publishers for Malaysia for more than 12 million pieces of musical works from all over the world. And because of this agreement, MACP is able to issue a blanket licence to users in the country to enable them to obtain authority to perform any item repertoire from the world's catalogue of works administered by MACP," added Chan, who joined MACP as a financial controller in 1992 but was later promoted to head the body as its general manager in 1994.

MACP's membership is free and the royalty is distributed once a year, unless the situation warrants or requires that more distribution be made in a year.

So, who needs a licence from MACP?

"Pubs, restaurants, hotels, clubs, retail shops, supermarkets, shopping centres, factories, skating rings, karaoke centres, fitness centres, etc, and all organisers of ad-hoc events for dinner and dance, concerts, promotional events, exihibitions, seminars, family days and fun fairs would need a permit licence from MACP."

There is a certain tariff which MACP has drawn out for all these occasions. You can either call up any of their officers or visit their website at macp.com.my.

"MACP fees are set out in its published tariffs, which lists different rates depending on the nature of the business and type of music used. There is, of course, the exception given to usage of musical works by a non-profit organisation or club for charitable or educational purposes, where no admission is charged. Weddings, for example, do not require MACP license because it is a private function," she said.

Any music user who does not have a licence is committing an offence under the Copyright Act 1987.

The physical sale of records have dropped siginificantly in the last five years. Fortunately for composers, the increase in number of music ringtones being uploaded has become another source of income. However, people who download these ringtones have to pay service providers who sometimes give out these services for free. In such cases, this is an issue which these service providers have to handle and deal with MACP directly.

In short, there is no such thing as free music because somehow, advertisers or service providers will have to pay.

The current technology has also resulted in a decline in the value of music. When music can be accessed freely from the Internet, no one wants to pay any more. And this situation can pose a real headache for MACP, said Chan.

"People don't appreciate music any more and some do not want to pay for music because they can get it for free. When this happens, we are pressured by our members. They expect MACP to compensate for their losses. They have high expectations and demand that they get the same royalty cheque every year.

"One thing many people don't realise, it's not easy dealing with creative people. They don't care about the business aspect and they expect their money (royalties) to grow every year despite the album not selling or the song not played on air. The distribution fees alloted are based on the performances. So, if your song is not making it, the pie will get smaller. But you cannot stop people from having this mindset. That is why it's important to educate them of their rights and MACP's functions. At the same time, we also try to help them on how to maximise their talents by doing workshops and seminars."

MACP was formed in Sept 1989. Now, it has acquired its own premises at the present office, a three-storey shop lot bought for RM1.4 mil. And the last 22 years has also seen MACP progressively recruiting more members.

Today, MACP has more than 2,868 members, which includes composers, lyricists and music publishers, and the numbers are increasing every month. MACP has control and ownership of more than 50,000 pieces of local musical works.

For the last 17 years, Chan has steadily gained the trust of MACP's members and played a crucial role in spearheading new development in songwriting rights protection.

Despite the hiccups, MACP has shown remarkable success in collecting royalties for its members. Last year alone, they collected RM36mil.

"The amount of royalties collected also shows there is an increase in the use of music products in public places and they are among the highest total so far. Last year, we collected RM36mil compared to the previous year's RM32mil.

From the RM36mil, 60% of the revenue was derived from the works of foreign artistes, while 40% came from local artistes.

It has always been MACP's aim to educate their members not to rely solely on their royalties to support themselves.

"They are taught to be self-reliant. We try to do this by having seminars and workshops like the 'Cipta Express Workshops' or the 'MACP Awards Night'. We provide various incentives and initiatives for our members to enhance their products in these workshops. So far, we've held these sort of workshops eight times, where the first one was in Pulau Tioman, Pahang," said Chan.

Not many people are aware that, at times, MACP has had to fork out money and pay for the medical expenses of its members, especially the senior ones.

"This is part of our social responsibility – looking after the sick and helpless senior composers/lyricists who have no savings and medical insurance. That is why we want to educate our members on how to become independent," Chan concluded.

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Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Khamis, 22 Disember 2011

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

The Star Online: Entertainment: Music

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