Idolator

Ali Campbell, whose 30-year tenure with UB40 ended last January because of financial quarrels, will be replaced by his estranged brother Duncan on the band's new tour. What is this, the Mafia? Maxi Priest, who has had his own history of reggae covers of classic schmaltz, will also be performing with the band. Duncan is a former professional spoon player, and evidently nothing else he's ever done in his life is as noteworthy as that. More »

UB40 frontman Ali Campbell is leaving the band after three decades due to managerial disputes. Sad? Sad. But out of sadness comes an excuse to finally post this video. News of Campbell's departure also made us wonder: Why in the same of ersatz reggae hasn't T-Pain (and/or Akon) sampled/interpolated/covered this yet? [NME/YouTube]

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at Ingenious, a London investment bank that is using its cash reserves to fund albums by older artists—including Travis^*, the Prodigy, and Peter Gabriel—whose recent efforts have been passed over by record labels. The company's logic: Swooping into territory where the currently suffering music industry would be wary of going, namely albums that may not have a lot of upside but less of a risk of being an out-and-out flop, could result in modest profits. Ingenious puts up the money for albums by these artists, then outsources tasks like distribution and marketing; all of the records it finances do manage to get international distribution. Here's how the relationship between Ingenious and it most recent signing, UB40, came to be: More »