A BLOG OF SORTS FROM CHRIS COOKE
August 2025 Updates
Bedlam archives
At the Friends Of Bedlam AGM last weekend I discovered that the EUTC archivists have been very busy in recent years, and have pulled in all the show data and assets FoB gathered in the 2000s – and a whole lot more – into a rather fine archive section on the Bedlam Theatre website. Ex-Bedlam people who want some data-based nostalgia, you can access it here.
Artist Day Bristol
Looking forward to joining Guvna B in Bristol next month for the FAC Artist Day. Please do spread the word to any artists you know in or around Bristol, it’s going to be a great day. Get more info and free tickets here.
TW:Backstage
Over on ThisWeek Culture we regularly select and summarise recent developments in the culture business. In the latest round-up: Edinburgh stats, MPs on comedy, ACE Grantium crash – read it here.
Back to Belfast
I’ll be back in Belfast next month for the always marvellous Output. There’ll be two CMU sessions this year on streaming and AI: ‘Get Played, Get Paid: How Music Streaming Really Works’ and ‘Music + AI: What The F*ck Is Going On Right Now?’ – hope to see you there!
Edinburgh favourites
Last day of the Edinburgh Festival – putting this here so when people ask and I have a mental block, I can check this post. Five favourite shows of the Fringe this year: Ismael Loutfi, Jamie D’Souza, Amelia Hamilton, Abby Howells and Guy Williams. All my reviews are here.
Chip supplies
Earlier this year the owner of my local chip shop asked if I thought he should close for two weeks in August so he could have a proper holiday. I said he should. And he has, which is great. Except, where do I get my chips from now?! Don’t worry, he’s back on Tuesday.
Artist Day Bristol
Looking forward to joining Kelli-Leigh in Bristol next month for the FAC Artist Day. If you’re an artist, find out how to get the most out of your music, your fanbase and your rights – and how to pick and get more from your business partners – with practical advice, case studies and the very latest insights. Info here.
TW:Talks Edinburgh 2025
All eight editions of the TW:Talks podcast from Edinburgh Festival 2025 are now online – it was great to chat to Ismael Loutfi, Amelia Hamilton, Eli Matthewson, Burt Williamson, Jessie Nixon, Katie Boyle, Thom Tuck and Joe Tracini. Check them all out here.
With an InterCap W
The winner of this year’s ‘Thats Right, It’s ThreeWeeks, One Word With An InterCap W’ Award is John Robertson – always a great show and always great attention to detail when typesetting the stars on his poster – (and please remember that InterCaps were cool in 1996, promise).
TW:Talks with Amelia
Another Edinburgh Fringe show I really enjoyed this year is Amelia Hamilton’s ‘Forget Me Not’, on at Pleasance Courtyard until 24 Aug. I had a chat with Amelia about the show for the next edition of the TW:Talks podcast, which is available from all good podcast providers or here on the website.
TW:Talks with Ismael
Favourite Edinburgh Fringe show so far is Ismael Loutfi’s ‘Heavenly Baba’ – it’s on at Assembly George Square until 24 Aug. I managed to sit down with Ismael for my first TW:Talks podcast of Edinburgh Festival 2025, which is available from all good podcast providers or here on the website.
FAC Artist Days
Still enjoying all things Edinburgh Fringe, but also looking ahead to next month and the launch of a series of FAC Artist Days that I’ll be co-hosting, in Bristol, Newcastle, Leicester and Leeds. At the first one in Bristol we’ll hear from Guvna B, Kelli-Leigh and Ollie Judge (Squid) as they provide insight into their careers and open up about their journeys in the music business. Info here.
Even more Edinburgh
More Edinburgh. Favourite show yesterday was Amelia Hamilton, I even bought some merch. I won’t be able to take the lighter back on the flight to London and today probably isn’t the day to be handing out lighters to random people in Edinburgh. But I got to download her tracks too. Today: some podcast interviews and three more shows to review.
More Edinburgh
More Edinburgh. The room I’m staying in overlooks mainly trees, but there’s a nice view of Salisbury Crags from the car park. Favourite comedy show so far was from Ted Milligan, which is all about football, and I have zero interest in football, so I think that was quite the achievement on his part. Off now to see three more shows.
Flying to Edinburgh
Bit blurry through the plane window, but this is me flying right over my house this morning. That white square at the bottom is my friendly local ASDA. Anyway, I’m now in Edinburgh. No friendly local ASDA, but loads of great shows. And Oasis fans I presume. Loads of Oasis fans.
Comedian rountables
I’m heading to Edinburgh tomorrow and, while I’m there, I’m planning to do some roundtables with comedians, to get their opinions on the state of the Fringe and the business of comedy more generally. If you’re a comedian in Edinburgh it would be great if you could join us – if you know any comedy performers in town, please do let them know. More info here.
Sony v Napster
With Sony suing Napster the streaming service, I had a deep dig into the archives for the last time we reported on major labels suing Napster, albeit that time the file-sharing platform. Back when CMU’s reporting on digital developments was delivered on paper. Meanwhile, here’s my CMU report on the 2025 litigation.
Mega stuff
In the last couple of days I’ve been sent a file on the MEGA platform; watched a video that featured Macy Gray; and written an article that references the big music piracy dramas of 2012. So now I’ve got ‘The Megaupload Song’ stuck in my head. And I’m posting about it here so you do too.
Edinburgh Q&As
My Sunday evening task: write a bunch more questions for a bunch more comedians performing at the Edinburgh Fringe this year. In the meantime, here’s the Q&A I did with stand-up Jamie D’Souza.
Termination rights
Still very interested in this ongoing legal battle. Partly because I always thought the termination right in US copyright law had been implemented wrong and the judge here agrees. And partly because, if this ruling stands, it majorly changes industry convention. Here’s my CMU report on the latest developments.
Three to see
If you go by official dates, which presumably some people do, today is the first day of the Edinburgh Fringe. If you’re heading there this month, Caro has a load of show recommendations for you, organised into handy sets of three.