Category: artist rights

Musician / Songwriter Blake Morgan Talks to NPR about Pandora’s Latest Attempt Reduce Royalties to Musicians

In a recent interview with NPR musician/songwriter Black Morgan expressed his thoughts and concerns about Pandora’s constant attempts to reduce royalty payments.

“I have a new record coming out — most people have new records coming out,” he says. “These are things that we’ve worked on for months, if not years, and we’re not looking to be paid unfairly. We’re simply looking for a fair working wage for the music that we make.”

Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren sent out emails to musicians trying to get them behind Pandora’s attempts to even the rates between terrestrial and Internet radio. Morgan wrote back to Westegren furious: “He cashes in a million dollars of stock every month on the first of the month and he’s done so over the same 14-month period that recording artists like me earned $15.75.”

Read the entire story here at NPR:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2013/06/15/191703769/songwriters-group-calls-pandoras-radio-station-buy-a-stunt

by trichordist

Megadeth Drummer Says Piracy Has Hurt Sales of New Album

There are more and more artists everyday realizing what we’ve know for well over a decade, that artists and creators are the victims of technocratic imperialism and labor exploitation. The latest is Shawn Drover of Megadeth.

Metal-Rules.com: “Super Collider” debuted at #6 on the Billboard Top 200 albums in the USA and #4 on Canadian Billboard charts. That’s the highest ranking since “Youthansia” back in 1994, so congrats! According to sales figures, “Super Collider” sold below “TH1RT3EN” for week one… Do you attribute that to changing times, illegal downloading, etc?

Shawn Drover: Of course it is. We are certainly thrilled to have a #6 record on Billboard in America and #4 in Canada, but sales are way down for the entire music industry right across the board, which is a real drag. Internet piracy, torrent sites and all that are the reason why. Concert attendance for us is still great around the world, so we are definitely happy about that.

Read The Full Story Here at Blabbermouth.Net:
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=191371

by trichordist

Pandora is Stiffing Artists by Josh Kear | The Hill

Josh Kear is a songwriter, ASCAP member and Grammy Award-winning songwriter for such artists as Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood, and Darius Rucker to name of few. He’s written an excellent post at The Hill about Pandora’s latest attempt to cheat songwriters and musicians of their rightful royalties.

Pandora is another example that The New Boss, Is Worse Than The Old Boss for musicians, songwriters and creators and elitist technocrats seek to enrich themselves on the labor of others. Kear writes,

Savvy readers will note a mere four percent of Pandora’s total revenue is spent on licensing public performance rights from songwriters and composers. That means we make a fraction of a cent every time one of our songs streams on Pandora’s service

READ THE FULL STORY HERE AT THE HILL:
by Trichordist Editor

But Mommy, I’m Special! The Internet Society Wants to Punch Your Nose and Commoditize You Without Your Permission

The solution to issues facing artists and creators on the internet can be summed up in two words, consent and compensation. Those opposed to these two very simple things are those who are profiting by exploiting the artists and creators who seek it. Read on.

Music Technology Policy

“It’s really important that we protect the rights of really good looking people in this society,”

Attorney Andrew Bridges of Fenwick & West (frequently representing Google) quoted at Beautiful Person Derek Khanna’s SXSW Panel

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This rather stunning bit of Googley sarcasm from the frequently-Googley litigator Mr. Bridges sums up the geek view of the world.  The Rich and Smart should win over The Beautiful and Famous.  (That he said it on a panel with one deemed to be of the 50 Most Beautiful Men on Capitol Hill and who is seemingly doing everything in his power to be famous–Mr. Khanna–does have a certain irony.)

But whatever the sarcasm and whatever the irony, Mr. Bridges apparently places himself in the conga line of those who believe that the Internet is “special”.  And nowhere is this “we’re special, screw off” more apparent than in the wandering Internet Society Issues…

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by Trichordist Editor

Fixing the Digital Economy by Jaron Lanier | The New York Times

Insightful commentary in the New York Times from Technologist, Inventor, Author Jaron Lanier. Both of Jaron Lanier’s books are recommended on the Trichordist Bookshelf.

TWO big trends in the world appear to contradict each other.

On the one hand, computer networks are said to be disrupting centralized power of all kinds and giving it to the individual. Customers can bring corporations to their knees by tweeting complaints. A tiny organization like WikiLeaks can alarm the great powers with nothing but encryption and net access. Young Egyptians can organize a nearly instant revolution with their mobile phones and the Internet.

But then there’s the other trend. Inequality is soaring in rich countries around the world, not just the United States. Money from the top 1 percent has flooded our politics. The job market in America has been hollowed out; unpaid internships are common and “entry-level” jobs seem to last a lifetime, while technical and management posts become ever more lucrative. The individual appears to be powerless in the face of tough prospects.

READ THE FULL STORY AT THE NEW YORK TIMES HERE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/fixing-the-digital-economy.html

by trichordist

Tim Westergren’s Mask Is Slipping: Pandora’s Scorched Earth Attack on Songwriters

Music Technology Policy

In yet another disastrous act of misguided desperation, Pandora announced that they purchased a radio station in Rapid City, South Dakota.  That’s not South San Francisco, it’s South Dakota–1500 miles away.

Why did they buy that station?  To somehow try to bootstrap themselves into the most important thing in their miserable lives–paying songwriters less.  (And artists will be next.)

Pandora has no connection to South Dakota, much less Rapid City–and that’s not why the FCC grants licenses to radio station owners.  But in the world of media concentration perfected by Pandora’s running buddies Clear Channel, buying a radio station in a city you have no connection to for purposes not related to proper use of the public airwaves to benefit the citizens of Rapid City is just business as usual.  Send in the Silicon Valley lawyers with the IPO checkbook to screw the songwriters whatever the cost.

Just…

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by thetrichordist

Uncertainty, Copyright and Courage by Paul Williams

On Wednesday, June 5th, ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams delivered a powerful keynote to attendees of the CISAC World Creators Summit in DC. He spoke passionately and pointedly about what it means to be a creator in today’s challenging digital environment.

This excerpt of the talk touches on one of many well made points.

Literature, music and art have value to individuals, to businesses and to countries. They open our hearts and minds. They inspire. They teach. They comfort. They drive economic growth and innovation. They define our time; they define our cultures; they bring us together.

So then, why are we now in the position of having to defend ourselves against the insidious erosion of the basic principles of copyright in so many parts of the world?

Intellectual property rights are a cornerstone of democracy. As a citizen, a creator and a consumer, I should have a reasonable expectation that I live in a society where thieves and outlaws are not allowed to run rampant – even when they are operating in cyberspace. But when lawmakers in North America and Europe tried to enact legislation that would help enforce laws against online fraud and theft, the technology sector said it would break the internet. They called it censorship.

Creators are in the business of free expression. Freedom of speech is about political speech, it is not about protecting fraud or theft. They trivialized what free speech means. Forces that want to control and diminish the value of our work for their own economic benefit are systematically attacking the rights of creators. They are methodically attacking the validity of copyright laws. They are building their businesses in a way that makes enforcement of our copyrights next to impossible.

The hope that creative work will pay off for the author, composer, filmmaker or photographer if it becomes successful is no longer a given. Fair payment has become another profound uncertainty in the professional life of every creator. This is true for people at the top of their game, and especially so for those just starting out. This is true globally – not just in the United States, in Canada, in the European Union – all over the world.

PLEASE READ THE FULL KEYNOTE ADDRESS HERE AT ASCAP:
http://www.ascap.com/playback/2013/06/action/uncertainty_copyright_and_courage.aspx

by Trichordist Editor

DMCA Safe Harbor is NOT a “License to Infringe”

Thanks to Music Tech Policy for alerting us to this post from The Association of Independent Music Publishers:

Apparently, some internet users interpret the DMCA “safe harbor,” which is designed to strike a balance between copyright and technology, as something quite different, a “license” to post anything you like, even if you know it is infringing, unless and until the copyright owner complains.

The distinction may seem small, but it may represent how the general public regards copyright on the internet.  Instead of avoiding infringement and respecting copyright, the concept of the “DMCA License” is that you don’t have to respect copyright.  Do what you like, and at the worst the copyright owner might force your ISP to remove the material.

There is no such thing as a “DMCA License” because under the DMCA, copyright owners are not in any way consenting to unauthorized use.  They are simply trying to keep up with the millions of infringements, using what the law gives them to work with.

READ THE FULL POST HERE:
http://www.aimp.org/copyrightCorner/8/The_DMCA_License

by Trichordist Editor

Google in Spotlight for Links to Criminal Websites… Again…

Just like groundhog’s day for Google… Here we go… Again…

“On every check we have made, Google’s search engine gave us easy access to illegal goods including websites which offer dangerous drugs without a prescription, counterfeit goods of every description, and infringing copies of movies, music, software and games,” said Attorney General Hood.  “This behavior means that Google is putting consumers at risk and facilitating wrongdoing, all while profiting handsomely from illegal behavior.”

If reading this triggers a sense of deja vu, don’t worry– you’re not crazy.  Less than 2 years ago, in August of 2011, Google agreed to a 500 million dollar settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over online advertisements for illegal Canadian pharmacies.

READ THE FULL POST AT VOX INDIE:
http://voxindie.org/google-links-to-criminal-websites-under-scrutiny

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN READING:
Google, Advertising, Money and Piracy. A History of Wrongdoing Exposed.

AND:
ADWEEK : “Ad Industry Takes Major Step to Fight Online Piracy”… Again…

by Trichordist Editor

New models, huh?

YouTube’s biggest partners are learning there’s nothing innovative in the exploitation of labor. David Newhoff at The Illusion of More offers this insight…

…the first and most important story is this one about YouTube’s biggest producing partners coming to realize that their revenue doesn’t exactly coincide with increases in viewership.

I can’t say I was surprised to read, “These partners feel that YouTube’s business approach enriches YouTube without making them nearly as wealthy.”  Presumably, this is simply a failure of the partners to embrace the new model of “you make product, we make money.”

READ THE FULL POST HERE AT THE ILLUSION OF MORE:
http://illusionofmore.com/new-models/

YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:
So Much For Innovation, YouTuber’s Meet The New Boss…

by Trichordist Editor