The head of the DOJ Antitrust Division is a former Google lawyer–so DOJ ruling against songwriters on 100% licensing to Google’s benefit should come as no surprise.
via Billboard: Google’s Justice Department out to Destroy PROs — Artist Rights Watch
90% White Hudson Valley Elects “Progressive” That Organized Mass Copyright Infringement Against MLK Estate
Whether you are shouting “tax the rich” into a megaphone or urging mass copyright infringement against he MLK estate it’s still important to wear your pearls!
“Progressive” Zephyr Teachout the democratic primary victor in NY-19 Congressional district is director of an organization that urged and continues to urge mass copyright infringement directed at the MLK estate. Only in a 90% white district in upstate NY could someone like this be considered a “progressive.”
We have been covering this story here at the Trichordist for over a month. We have tweeted her links. We have emailed the Zephyr Teachout campaign. Other organizations including the local American Federation of Musicians have tried to get her to respond on this and other copyright issues. No response.
As of 11:04 pm June 28th the webpage urging mass copyright infringement is still live. We can only conclude that Teachout has “dug in” and she sees nothing wrong with this. Really? That’s where she’s gonna take a stand? Is that what it means to be a progressive now days? No thanks.
Zephyr TeachOut is not who she claims to be. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Read our comprehensive coverage of her long and sordid history with astroturf groups,SuperPACs and self-serving copyright infringement here:
Teachout’s “Internet freedom day” website at 11:04pm EDT June 28th. Worlds first civil disobedience campaign against a civil rights icon! Still live. Now that’s what I call Progressive!
You think Brexit was stupid? New York -19 Dems show the Brits how it’s done with a Zephyxit!
This is the “About Us” page when we started writing about Teachout.
In the last few days the page has been changed to this. Hey kids it’s a game of “where in the world is Zephyr Teachout?”
Oh here she is! Right here on their 2015 tax return!
The Great Artist Revolt: Are Apple Music and Spotify a Solution to a Post-YouTube Reality? — Music Tech Solutions
Labels need to be coming to grips with a succession plan when YouTube negotiations fail to satisfy artist concerns–Apple and Spotify are logical choices.
by Chris Castle via The Great Artist Revolt: Are Apple Music and Spotify a Solution to a Post-YouTube Reality? — Music Tech Solutions
4 Questions For @ZephyrTeachout: Jack and Lydia DeJohnette Letter
By The Time We Get To Woodstock….
This Tuesday, Zephyr Teachout, director of the anti-artist FFTF (Fight For The Future)’s 501c3, is running in the Democratic primary in NY’s 19th congressional district (Hudson Valley, including Woodstock)
Although Teachout is running as a progressive, and is indeed progressive on many issues, the FFTF is about as regressive on artists rights/copyright as possible.
See:
After unsuccessfully trying to get Teachout to clarify her relation to the anti-artist positions of FFTF, NY based “Musicians Action group” [MA.g] activists sounded the alarm through a mass emailing to Hudson Valley musicians:
“Many of us are democrats who share Teachout’s progressive views on many issues. But creators’ families are Working Families, too, and copyright is how we get paid. So we’re asking Zephyr Teachout: Which Side Are You On?”. The email asked everyone to send Teachout 4 questions (see below).
According to MA.g spokesperson Marc Ribot, “the response from musicians/creators has been extremely positive.
Legendary Jazz drummer and Hudson Valley resident Jack DeJohnette copied us on the letter he and his wife Lydia sent Teachout, along with MA.g’s 4 questions. We think Jack and Lydia’s eloquent letter speaks for MANY, in Hudson Valley and beyond.”
Jack and Lydia DeJohnette Letter to Teachout
Dear Ms Teachout,
My wife and I have been following you since your run for governor with interest. We are progressives and along with the rest of us are disturbed by a lot of what we perceive as self-serving politicians who seem to have forgotten who puts them in office and who they should be serving.
You have impressed us on many issues, however, the attached letter speaks to issues that are directly impacting our lives as artists.
The Hudson Valley has according to Mike Hein,county executive, the largest group of artists per capita in the USA living in it. My wife and I have lived here over 40 years and raised our family here. It disturbs me that someone who seems to be running in support of the people is not further tuned in to the needs of us artists, who ultimately might be your constituents.
Since downloads and YouTube started my recorded music royalties have declined by over 90%, I am all over YouTube, everyone but me gets an income from this.
The internet has virtually destroyed my royalty income, from radio to illegal downloads. I am not a famous rock star who can get heavy duty lawyers fighting for me. I am a jazz musician, we have never been represented in the ‘big picture’, our sales are considered paltry by the industry.
Technology is in advance of regulations, our only hope is that our politicians take up the cause for us and work to bring in legislation that protects us, we hope you will become that champion. If you support us in this issue, we will consider supporting you further. Please respond to the four questions posed in the attachment.
I am a senior now and at one time in the past I had expected to retire with some royalty income as a back up, unfortunately that is no longer. As the corporations behind the music industry are getting bigger and bigger.
We look forward to hearing from you,
Sincerely,
Jack & Lydia DeJohnette
Four Questions for Zephyr Teachout Candidate US House of Representatives Democratic Primary NY-19
- Do you personally support the anti-artist, anti-copyright agenda of Fight For The Future, where you served as Director of the Education Fund? If so, please explain why you hold that position. If not, please explain how your views differ from the messages of that organization.
- Do you recognize that mass, online copyright infringement causes direct harm to people like me? As my prospective representative, will you fight for my ability to support myself and my family with my creative work?
- You’re running on a message that is very important to democrats – holding corporations accountable and getting big money out of politics. Can you say without equivocation that Fight For The Future reflects these values?
- Do you support Jerrold Nadler’s Fair Play Fair Pay bill, which would bring the US into conformity with the rest of the free industrialized world by paying artists for the commercial, terrestrial radio broadcast of their work (and put tens of millions in foreign royalties now being withheld due to the lack of US reciprocity into the pockets of US working artists)?
Spotify IPO Watch: Brexit’s Bubble Bursting Bang — Artist Rights Watch
Right now I see no reason to think there is any likelihood that those trend lines will change direction for the frothy bubble in the markets that I think is a necessary condition for a Spotify IPO (or even a real unicorn like Uber). How long? Weeks and weeks for sure and probably months and months, well into 2017.
via Spotify IPO Watch: Brexit’s Bubble Bursting Bang — Artist Rights Watch
@Techdirt @MMasnick Reduced to Selling T-Shirts and Abusing Random People On Twitter
From the no-one-understands-your-tired-copyleft-bullshit-t-shirt dept
Fixing the Legacy DMCA by Contract — MUSIC • TECHNOLOGY • POLICY
Labels made deals with @YouTube out of desperation. It’s pennies & whack-a-mole. How can labels renew YT deals with so much artist pressure? — Irving Azoff (@irvingazoff) June 22, 2016
Irving Azoff asks the right question of the labels that are in renegotiations with YouTube to extend their licenses: Given the global unity against Google’s business practices, how can labels close new deals without using that negotiation to fix the DMCA abuse problems that everyone knows are unique to Google?
via Fixing the Legacy DMCA by Contract — MUSIC • TECHNOLOGY • POLICY
@theblakemorgan: Courage Deserves Support: Vote for Rep. Jerry Nadler on June 28 in NY-10 — Artist Rights Watch
Congressman Jerry Nadler’s leadership and courage on behalf of American music makers is unmatched in Congress. He was the first member of Congress I was ever invited to meet with. He was the first Representative to stand with #IRespectMusic. He’s co-authored (with Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn) the #FairPlayFairPayAct to ensure that music makers get paid fairly for radio play.
@mattpinfield: KFOG Interviews David Lowery on Artist Letter Against DMCA Shakedown — Artist Rights Watch — MUSIC • TECHNOLOGY • POLICY
Lowery: “The DMCA is an AOL law in a Snapchat world.” KFOG’s Matt Pinfield interviews David Lowery on air about the 180 artists joining the grassroots to oppose the DMCA. via @mattpinfield: KFOG Interviews David Lowery on Artist Letter Against DMCA Shakedown — Artist Rights Watch
What Lawsuit? How Much is Spotify Paying For @BerkleeCollege @WBUR @NPRmusic OMI Smokescreen?
Let me be honest. The Trichordist has succeeded in raising awareness of artists rights issues in the digital world not because we are particularly gifted. The secret to our success is that those arrayed against us, particularly those allied with the digital music services, keep serving up our talking points on a silver platter. I’m not sure if this is arrogance, hubris or sheer ineptitude but it keeps happening.
Case in point is the so-called Open Music Initiative (OMI). While this seemed to me to be a carefully crafted PR response to the songwriter class-action lawsuits, I couldn’t just come out and say that.
Fortunately the participants in the OMI made the connection for me. NPR and their local affiliate WBUR are participants in the Open Music Initiative and they published this super helpful article on their website:
Thank you.
So this is just what we suspected it to be all along, cynical counter-programming to burnish the public image of an industry that has been the target of a host of class-action lawsuits. Largely because these companies blatantly violated a host of federal laws by failing to license and pay songwriters. And BTW I’m not just talking about copyright law here. If I was a Spotify shareholder I would take a close look at those Spotify financial statements. (What are the EU rules for reporting contingent liabilities like potential lawsuits?)
Actually counter-programming is too nice of a term. If the WBUR article is any indication, expect the OMI to propagate falsehoods and propaganda that mislead the public and potential songwriter class members as to the nature of their rights. Look at this whopper by Berklee’s Panos Panay:
“It’s one of the few industries that I know where you can use something and it’s OK to not really know who to pay,” he said with a laugh. “Well we don’t think that that should be acceptable.”
Actually it’s not ok to use a song without knowing who to pay. The law is very clear on this matter, hence the class action lawsuits. This statement has the potential to mislead putative class members, specifically by making them think that their rights have not been violated. This is a very troubling statement since Spotify is somehow sponsoring this initiative.
Of course this could also be sheer ignorance on the part of Panay. He may really think that you can use music without “knowing who to pay.” As we demonstrated last summer Berklee’s academic scholarship on copyright and music licensing is quite shoddy:
This may explain why a Berklee College of Music student pays $43k a year but typically earns less than a high school graduate after attending. That’s right attending Berklee College is negatively correlated with future earnings!
More on Berklee statistics here:
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/search/?name=Berklee%20College&sort=advantage:desc
and here:
If Berklee College, NPR, WBUR and Spotify are truly serious about streaming transparency first order of business should be publishing a list of the “unmatched,” unpaid and unlicensed songs. They won’t. Because this is an elaborate corporate smokescreen.
The Trichordist 
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