Funded by the Department for Education and administered through Arts Council England, the three-year £171 million programme was considered to be a major positive outcome of Darren Henley's 2011 review of music education in England.
However, Ofsted's report published in November said the hubs, funded from August 2012, had done little to improve the quality of music education from previous years and that the subject continued to be "poorly taught" in many schools.
Chart Statistics - Queen have made UK chart history by becoming the first act to sell six million copies of an individual album. Their first Greatest Hits collection, which includes the hits We Will Rock You and Bohemian Rhapsody, has extended its lead after being Britain's highest-selling album for several years. The Official Charts Company said one in three British families now owned a copy of the 1981 compilation.
Festival Shorts - Bastille and Chase and Status have been announced as the headliners for this year's Boardmasters festival. The Newquay event will take place between 6 August and 10 August. Dan Croll, Raleigh Ritchie, Bipolar Sunshine and Palma Violets are among the other names on the line-up for the Fistral Beach event. Last year more than 150,000 people attended Boardmasters festival, which was headlined by The Vaccines, Basement Jaxx and Ben Howard
Cabin Luggage - Musicians have moved one step closer to securing a uniform policy that would allow them to take their instruments on planes after the European Union's parliamentary body voted in favour of a legislative reform. The European Parliament has agreed to a revision of air passenger rights, which includes a reform that would mean air carriers "must accept smaller instruments into the passenger cabin" and "must clearly indicate the terms and conditions for the transport of larger instruments in the cargo hold".
On The Fringe - Edinburgh venue St Stephen's could be open as a fringe venue this August, if a community trust succeeds in its bid to purchase the historic building from current owner, the Church of Scotland. The venue was put on the open market in April last year but a bid from an unnamed purchaser fell through in December, when the building was put back up for sale and all public activities cancelled. Last week, a closing date of February 20 was set for offers to buy the building, indicating that at least one offer has already been made.
Members of the St Stephen's Playfair Trust told a public meeting held in the venue that it hopes to buy the building for the £500,000 asking price - and offer to lease the building for a year while it raises the money.
(Jim Evans)
