Music Industry Disputes...

Within the last  decade the  music industry has encountered its share of legal controversies stemming from copyright infringements and piracy issues. Let me update you on some of the most recent issues.

    Hip-Hop recording artist and Canada's very own "Drake" has found himself in the midst of a legal controversy this week stemming from his hit single, "Marvin's Room." This song contained a sample of a voice message left for him by his ex-girlfriend, Ericka Lee, the person the song is about. In the lawsuit, Lee states that she has not been properly compensated for her contributions, for which she feels significantly contributed to the overall quality of the song. Drake, Cash Money Records recording artist, denies any wrong doing and stated that Lee only wanted credit and not monetary compensation. In this particular case I feel that Drake could have done a better job to protect himself. In the recording industry and in the court of law, verbal contracts rarely hold merit. Despite Drakes claims that Lee only wanted credit, he should have gotten a contract outlining the terms of the agreement. In this case I feel that Lee will succeed in her attempts to sue her ex-boyfriend aka "Drizzy Drake."

  In efforts to help curb online piracy, Universal Music Group has led the way in filling  suit against companies that promote online piracy. In November 2011,UMG Recordings sued owners and executives from the online music streaming website,GrooveSharks. The claim alleges copyright infringement for not obtaining the proper licensing for songs by artist signed to the UMG label. GrooveShark had a previous encounter with Capital Records however the copyright case  was settled by entering into a licensing agreement. In my opinion, cases like these are meant to send shockwaves through the industry to culprits of identical acts. There are a lot of online music streaming websites that engage in similar activities however by attacking the giants, hopefully others will fall in line and obtain the proper licensing. In this case I feel that Groove Shark will either go away or obtain the proper licensing as they did with Capital records.

  One of the most common  legal issues that's currently going on within the recording industry deals with stolen music ending up on Billboards top 100. In these cases the initial producers are not given proper credit, while the grammy is being given to the person who played a minor role in the songs original creation process.  This past fall, Cash Money records recording artist Lil Wayne and his Young Money camp were hit with a $15 million dollar lawsuit stemming from the unauthorized use of the song "BedRock." Georgia based production team, Done Deal Enterprises claims that Lil wayne stole their song entitled "Bedrock" and incorporated parts of the song into his version in which he titled  "Bedrock" as well. After listening to the two songs myself ,I do hear the similarities.  I feel that most cases like these are settled before the judge rules and this particular instance should be no different.  There has yet to be any follow up info since having filed the suit back in September which leads me to believe that the case may have been settled out of court.

Sources:

http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2012/02/drake-denies-wrongdoing-in-marvins-room-royalties-case/

http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/08/lil-wayne-bed-rocked-by-15m-lawsuit/

http://techlaw.justia.com/2011/11/29/umg-copyright-lawsuit-charges-grooveshark-execs-employees-with-massive-uploads-of-infringing-tunes/

Songwriter Success

If you have ever thought to get into the songwriting business don’t let the thought of fear outweigh the possibility of success. The following songwriters success stories can serve as inspiration and motivation to help get your career started on the right path.

NeYo is a perfect example of a songwriter success story. Originally starting off as a singer, with the advice given to him from Def Jam label executives, he later became a full-time songwriter. And years later, he  is a multi-millionaire. As a singer he made a name for himself, however he makes the majority of his money from songwriting and producing. He makes millions (annually) in songwriting and production royalties. Some notable song writing credits include writing for: Beyonce, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson, Faith Evans, Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias, Ciara, and many more. One of his biggest includes Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable”

In addition to Neyo another songwriter making a name for themselves is Ester Dean. Dean, like most songwriters, initially planned on being an artist but she eventually talked herself out of it after being  advised by label executives  to pursue a career in songwriting. She got her big break after moving to Atlanta,Ga and being introduced to producer Polow da Don and signing to his Zone 4 imprint through Interscope Records. From there she has went to pen some of 2010’s-2011’s biggest hits for artist such as: Rihanna, Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, Nicki Minaj, Mary J. Blige, Usher and Ciara among others. One of her biggest hits includes Katy Perry’s “Fireworks”

1)http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/04/singer-songwriter-ester-dean-on-finding-success-i-started-thinking-i-deserved-more.html

2) http://mxymag.com/31/ne-yo-multi-millionaire-songwriter/

Songwriter Distribution.

  If you are thinking about getting into the songwriting/music production business one of your most important concerns for you is going to involve the collection your earnings and protection for  yourself from copy-write infringers. With these and other issues, it is important for one to become affiliated with a performing rights organization, more particularly  American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (commonly known as ASCAP). 

     ASCAP, is a membership association of more than 410,000 US composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers of every kind. ASCAP protects the rights of its members by licensing and distributing royalties for the public performances of their copyrighted works. ASCAP's licensees encompass all who want to perform copyrighted music publicly included but not limited to: soundtrack performances, radio airplay ect. . ASCAP makes giving and obtaining permission to perform music simple for both creators and users of music. It is the only U.S. performing rights organization created and controlled by composers, songwriters and music publishers, with a Board of Directors elected by and from the membership. 

    One of the primary  benefits of ASCAP and other performing rights organizations is in that they are extremely knowledgeable about music and all the technicalities that come along with music licensing and will be an invaluable source to your career. This is important to the music industry in that one always has a concrete source or guide to gain a plethora valuable knowledge regarding important music licensing decisions.

   Another benefit of ASCAP is that the association does all the leg work involved in issuing license to the users on ones music and in turns makes sure you, the song writer/composer, gets paid. All one has to do is become a registered member, which includes paying your yearly fee’s. Once registered as a member you are able to submit musical works to be protected by the association. Its pretty much out of your hands from there. This is important to the music industry because a musicians life is already busy, with having an association of such, it offers much support for the songwriter/composer in this area of their career. 

  

      Other benefits associated with being a member of ASACP  includes :

• Discount on membership to the Songwriter Hall of Fame

• Membership in the U.S Alliance Federal Credit Union.

• Discounts on health, dental instrument and life insurance via its MusicPro program
• Discount on ASCAP Web Tools, a set of internet-based marketing and sales tools developed by Nimbit Inc for ASCAP members
• Discounts on music-related retail products and services
• Hotel and rental car discounts

http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_of_Composers,_Authors_and_Publishers

http://www.ascap.com/about/

http://ask.metafilter.com/42436/Should-I-join-ASCAP-not-a-simple-question-in-my-case