Category: Artists Rights Watch

Shazam Predicts 2014 Grammy Winners | Yahoo Finance

The Shazam music team looked at the total activity around each of these artists and as a percentage of the total activity for the category and made the following predictions:

Record of the Year – Robin Thicke feat. T.I. and Pharrell, “Blurred Lines” – 5.4M Shazams (31% of the category)

Album of the Year – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, “The Heist” – 11.4M Shazams (48% of the category)

Song of the Year – P!nk feat. Nate Ruess, “Just Give Me a Reason” – 4.3M Shazams (31% of the category)

Best New Artist – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (56% of the category)

Best Dance / Electronica Album – Calvin Harris, “18 Months” – 5M Shazams (59% of the category)

Best Country Album – Taylor Swift, “Red” – 4.3M Shazams (40% of the category)

Best Rap Album – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, “The Heist” (42% of the category)

READ THE FULL STORY AT YAHOO FINANCE:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/shazam-predicts-2014-grammy-winners-151700334.html

by Trichordist Editor

Gene Simmons Voices Support for New Artists | Slyck News

We love Gene’s passion for new and developing artists to have the same opportunities he did.

The foxes have been led into the hen house, so people wonder why there’s so few chickens. It’s because you allowed your kids to go in there and steal the stuff for free, so record companies are dying and new bands don’t have a chance. And new bands should get every chance in the world, and if it means ‘The X Factor’ or ‘American Idol’ or any other kind of (outlet), give them a chance.

“I still think [downloading] is a crime. The sad part is that the fans are the ones who are killing the thing they love, great music. For f***ks sake, you’re not giving the next great band a chance. How much have we lost through illegal downloading?

READ THE FULL STORY AT SLYCK NEWS:
http://www.slyck.com/story2274_Gene_Simmons_Speaks_Out_Once_Again_About_Music_Piracy

by Trichordist Editor

Why Google Really is Evil | Fox Business News

There’s an old saying, sooner or later the truth will out.

It’s also clear that, after Schmidt joined Apple’s (AAPL) board of directors, Android magically evolved from a BlackBerry-like device with a physical keypad into essentially an iPhone clone with a virtual keypad and multitouch display.

Right up until the Federal Trade Commission forced him off Apple’s board in 2009, Schmidt maintained that Google was not really a competitor to Apple’s iPhone. Of course, Google followed Apple’s next breakthrough device, the iPad, with Android tablets which, presumably, weren’t competitors either.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

There’s so much more in the Fox story it really is endlessly fascinating, and not that we’re surprised.

Besides having founders and top executives with the ethical flexibility to stab one of its closest partners in the back with a classic bait-and-switch while disingenuously attempting to maintain a superior moral high ground, there’s even more evidence that Google is the most evil tech company since Microsoft was, back in the day.

It now appears inevitable that, at some point, Google will know more about you than you do. If you’re at all concerned about privacy, forget the NSA; it’s Google you should be worried about.

READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2014/01/17/why-google-really-is-evil/

by Trichordist Editor

90%+ Of Artists Are Undiscovered | Next Big Sound

A lot of interesting 2013 Year End Data from Next Big Sound. We’ve been hearing a lot about how artists are going to be “empowered” by the internet and have new “middle class careers” without record labels. Thus far at over 13 years in, the numbers tell a very different story. We see more exploitation and less empowerment for professional sustainable careers.

All of the artists in our system were then grouped according to these benchmarks, and we found that an overwhelming number fall within the Undiscovered stage, in fact more than 90%. Close to 7% of the artists we are tracking are still Developing, but only about 1% of all the artists in our system can be considered Mainstream or even Mega stars.

Piracy has eliminated the incentive for investment in anything other than what can become the largest, most mainstream, major cross platform merchandising brands. The record labels have “adapted and evolved” to the reality of the new digital marketplace by building brands instead of bands that can be monetized over various platforms, like you know… t-shirts, touring, merchandising, endorsements, sync placements, etc.

Welcome to the future piracy brought you.

READ THE FULL REPORT AT NEXT BIG SOUND:
https://www.nextbigsound.com/industryreport/2013/

RELATED:

If the Internet is working for Musicians, Why aren’t more Musicians Working Professionally?

The Smoking Gun of Internet Exploitation of Musicians and Songwriters

by Trichordist Editor

Blake Morgan Launches irespectmusic.org and #irespectmusic hashtag

Musician and artists rights advocate Blake Morgan has launched a new website, http://irespectmusic.org/ and the hashtag #irespectmusic

Blake is known not only for his music as a solo artist, and for the label he runs, ECR Music Group but also for his inspiring editorials on HuffPo:

Art and Music Are Professions Worth Fighting for

Pandora Needs to Do Right By Artists

We’re looking forward to seeing what he’s been up too…

BlakeIRespectMusic

RELATED:

Tim Westergren Emails Underscore Tension Between Pandora, Artists

Google, Advertising, Money and Piracy. A History of Wrongdoing Exposed.

Over 50 Major Brands Supporting Music Piracy, It’s Big Business!

by trichordist

David Lowery Talks Artists Rights | The BBC [video]

When he’s not on the road touring, Lowery is teaching students at the University of Georgia about the business of the music industry.

He is a vocal critic of that industry, and particularly how technology – from illegal downloading to new streaming services – has made it harder for artists to keep control of their work and to earn a living from it.

WATCH THE FULL STORY ON BBC VIDEO:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25771368

by Trichordist Editor

Musician/Producer Michael Beinhorn Added to NAMM Artists Rights Panel Thu 1/23 – 3pm

We’ve just gotten word that Musician/Producer Michael Beinhorn has been added to the NAMM 2014 Artists Rights & Internet Panel.

Michael brings a unique perspective as a musician and producer whose work spans from such classic and ground breaking albums as Herbie Hancock’s “Future Shock” which featured “Rockit” to seminal rock albums for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Marylin Manson, Hole, Soundgarden and to many more to mention.

Michael Beinhorn Discography

NAMM 2014 – Copyright, The Internet and You
http://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2014/hot-zone/copyright-internet-and-you-panel

Day: Thursday, Jan 23

Start Time: 3:00 pm (One Hour) 

Room: The Forum (203 A-B)

Presenter / Moderator: Gregory Butler

Why are content creators seeing less money than ever while their art is being used so widely? Join our panel of experts as they look at the challenges of navigating the new music industry, piracy and intellectual property.

Panelists:
* Lucy Miyaki of Tashaki Miyaki
* Manda Mosher of Calico
* Reinhold Heil, Film & TV Composer
* John Cate, fmr Tunecore CFO
* Tom Biery, Artist Management
* Brian McNelis, Music Supervisor / Soundtrack Album Producer

RELATED :

NAMM 2014 Artists Rights Panel, Actually Features Artists…

by Trichordist Editor

Google Can Bite Me | The Illusion of More

Never wanting to lose an opportunity to be bizarrely two-faced, Google is sending around a little graphic today to all you GMail users implying that stopping SOPA in January of 2012 actually enabled creativity to continue to thrive on the Web. Never mind that nothing in SOPA could have stopped you or me or any other would-be creator from uploading our works, ideas, or captured events to the Web; that’s just pesky reality.

But Google isn’t satisfied just to effect public policy in its own interests, it also wants to behave like the abusive and negligent father, who creepily shows up with a smile and a hug when his kid wins an award or becomes famous.

After all, this week isn’t just the anniversary of SOPA Blackout Day, it’s also the week Google received its 100 millionth takedown notice from recording artists who would rather not have their works exploited without permission or compensation. So, the whole, “we protected creativity together” message just kinda makes the skin crawl. Y’know?

READ THE FULL POST AT THE ILLUSION OF MORE:
http://illusionofmore.com/google-bite-me/

by Trichordist Editor

FCC Shelves Pandora’s Bid For South Dakota Radio Station | Billboard

In a setback to its music licensing plans, Pandora has received word from the FCC that for the time being it is no longer processing its application to transfer ownership of the broadcasting license for KXMZ, the Rapid City, South Dakota radio station it acquired last June. Pandora had hoped to take advantage of the lower rates that internet streaming services owned by terrestrial radio stations enjoy.

READ THE FULL STORY AT BILLBOARD:
http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/legal-and-management/5869791/fcc-shelves-pandoras-bid-for-south-dakota-radio

by Trichordist Editor

NAMM 2014 Artists Rights Panel, Actually Features Artists…

We’ve written here before how so called “Artists Rights” or “Artists & Copyright” panels at conventions such as CES and SXSW seem to be lacking any artists who are actually interested in protecting their rights and copyrights. So we’re pleased to see that NAMM has gotten it right and we encourage those going to the convention to drop in on the panel.

NAMM 2014 – Copyright, The Internet and You
http://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2014/hot-zone/copyright-internet-and-you-panel

Day: Thursday, Jan 23

Start Time: 3:00 pm (One Hour) 

Room: The Forum (203 A-B)

Presenter / Moderator: Gregory Butler

Why are content creators seeing less money than ever while their art is being used so widely? Join our panel of experts as they look at the challenges of navigating the new music industry, piracy and intellectual property.

Panelists:
* Lucy Miyaki of Tashaki Miyaki
* Manda Mosher of Calico
* Reinhold Heil, Film & TV Composer
* John Cate, fmr Tunecore CFO
* Tom Biery, Artist Management
* Brian McNelis, Music Supervisor / Soundtrack Album Producer

by Trichordist Editor