It is unacceptable for the record industry to continue to apply deal terms which are solely designed to reduce the incomes of musicians. | | | | The Sun Ra Arkestra's Marshall Allen plays his Steiner EVI in Greensboro, N.C., in 2017. The Arkestra's "Swirling" is out today on Strut Records.
(Edwin Remsberg/VWPics/Getty Images) | | | | | | “It is unacceptable for the record industry to continue to apply deal terms which are solely designed to reduce the incomes of musicians.”
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| | rantnrave:// Is it weirdly on brand for the music industry to go into competition with itself as it fights for relief for its own live music sector and the people whose livelihoods depend on it? Does it always have to be a major vs. indie thing? Or am I—and others—misreading the formation of a new pandemic relief lobby, #SaveLiveEventsNow, by major promoters, agencies, management firms, unions and one (?) major label, but not with the coalition of 2,000 (!) indie venues around the US that has been lobbying for half a year for legislation like the SAVE OUR STAGES act and which has become the public face of live music's plea for help? Just asking, with the stipulation that fighting for the livelihoods of musicians, roadies, venue staffers and everybody else involved in live events is a good thing, and the more voices involved, the better. #SaveLiveEventsNow, which is lobbying for extended unemployed benefits, tax credits, healthcare subsidies and other government assistance, says the Save Our Stages act—a bipartisan package that the NATIONAL INDEPENDENT VENUES ASSOCIATION fought for and which has been passed by the US HOUSE—doesn't go far enough in protecting either venues or employees. NIVA told reporters it "was not asked to join these efforts," and noted its support of legislative relief efforts in general. On the same day, NIVA announced the SAVE OUR STAGES FEST, a three-day virtual benefit it's producing in partnernship with YOUTUBE MUSIC next weekend. FOO FIGHTERS, YG, MILEY CYRUS, the ROOTS, DAVE MATTHEWS and PHOEBE BRIDGERS are among the performers, indie and major alike, who'll perform to promote the current legislation and raise funds for venues. "The vibe of this event has been collaborative beyond anything I’ve ever seen," YouTube's ALI RIVERA told Variety. Which seems like a good concept, no? Just asking... BMG is getting rid of the controlled composition clause as part of its "ongoing program to rebalance the music industry in favor of artists and songwriters by abandoning longstanding practices designed to reduce the incomes of musicians." That, by the way, is as clear an explanation of the controlled composition clause as you're likely to see (here's the more familiar version, as offered by ASCAP). The clause, which basically penalizes artists for writing their own songs, is industry-standard but takes less of a bite than it used to because it only applies to physical sales, not streaming or downloads. Billboard says it's still costing songwriters $15 million a year. DINA LAPOLT, a music lawyer and co-founder of SONGWRITERS OF NORTH AMERICA, called BMG's move "a massive step forward." BMG is the label that in June promised to review its historical record contracts, "mindful of the music industry's record of shameful treatment of Black artists." It announced a month later it had finished its initial review but has yet to announce any further action... JOHN LENNON would have turned 80 today. Here's a copy of his birth announcement in the LIVERPOOL ECHO. PAUL MCCARTNEY chats about him with ALEC BALDWIN in a SIRIUSXM special that premieres at 11am ET. This may be the saddest happy song he ever wrote... WILLIE NELSON is 87 (and a half), and wow this package of stories in TEXAS MONTHLY, including HOLLY GEORGE-WARREN on his lifetime of charitable work (in public and in private), NATE CHINEN on his guitar playing, TED GIOIA on his feel for the Great American Songbook and, maybe most intriguingly, JOHN SPONG on "Willie Nelson, Landlord" who "conducted an experiment in communal living... and helped turn a sleepy college town into the Live Music Capital of the World"... LA police on Thursday charged TORY LANEZ with two felonies, including assault with a semiautomatic firearm and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm, in the July shooting of MEGAN THEE STALLION. If convicted, Lanez would face a maximum sentence of 22 years... A&M co-founder JERRY MOSS and his wife, TINA, have donated $25 million to Los Angeles' MUSIC CENTER... It's FRIDAY and that means new music from REASON (debut for TOP DAWG ENTERTAINMENT), DIZZEE RASCAL, HEADIE ONE, MARY LATTIMORE, BROTHERS OSBORNE, PAPOOSE, DINNER PARTY (TERRACE MARTIN, ROBERT GLASPER & 9TH WONDER), TREY SONGZ, CURTIS WATERS, SUN RA ARKESTRA (first studio album in more than 20 years), RON MILES, TOUCHÉ AMORÉ, METZ, DEVILDRIVER, LIL LOADED, BLOCBOY JB, FAMOUS DEX, MAC DEMARCO, FUTURE ISLANDS, TRAVIS, JOENSUU 1685, the KRONOS QUARTET (PETE SEEGER tribute), the BUDOS BAND, GROOVE ARMADA, LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III, the TWILITE TONE, LARAAJI, MACHINEDRUM, JOSH JOHNSON, SAM DECKER, SIMON MOULLIER, YO LA TENGO, CARLA BRUNI, ANDY BELL, PATTY SMYTH, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, MINA TINDLE, SLOW PULP, SUPERCRUSH, HUNDREDTH, GUNN-TRUSCINSKI DUO, NORTH AMERICANS and CUT WORMS... And hello, STEVIE NICKS... RIP MOHAMMAD REZA SHAJARIAN, JACQUES-LOUIS MONOD and MAYNARD SOLOMON. | | | - Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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| On what would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday, Dylan Jones writes about the legendary Beatle, “a man who could be as humdrum as he was remarkable.” | | |
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| Yoko Ono, Julian Lennon and more remember the Beatles’ great cultural icon, who would have turned 80 years old today. | | |
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| The links between hip-hop and the prison system are on display in laws and lyrics stretching back decades. If you're caught between these two American institutions, it might look like a trap. | | |
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| Bands and brands teaming up to combine marketable forces is nothing new, especially in the fashion world. But this summer and fall, the hype train has accelerated with high-profile collaborations between music superstars and juggernauts like Nike and McDonald’s. | | |
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| Businesses are trying to keep up with a baffling series of directives at the same time they’re trying to stay solvent. | | |
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| Before he moved his home and his headquarters out to the Hill Country, Willie conducted an experiment in communal living right in the heart of Austin. It was as crazy as you might expect—and helped turn a sleepy college town into the Live Music Capital of the World. | | |
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| The music industry is applauding BMG's decision to axe the controlled composition clause, which reduces royalty payments for artists that write their own songs. | | |
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| The 20-year-old singer and songwriter Bea Kristi’s song “Coffee” has reached millions. Now she’s releasing “Fake It Flowers,” an album that puts a new spin on ’90s alt-rock. | | |
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| The Chicago-reared rapper returned home before recording his latest project, the “V TAPE” EP, and engaging in the city’s turbulent moment in politics. | | |
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| Hyde Records feels like a hopeful sign of the music industry's power to survive and adapt. | | |
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| “You get this image of this bombastic, incredible, loud, prodigy,” his manager says, “but personally, he had a big heart. He did a lot of things for a lot of people that nobody knows about.” | | |
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| The Van Halen co-founder and guitar god, who died this week at 65, redefined how rock music should sound--and look--with style and ease. | | |
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| In a Billboard op-ed, NMPA president & CEO David Israelite criticizes Spotify for what he sees as its hypocrisy on royalty rates. | | |
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| While there are success stories—usually coming from regional rap scenes such as Buffalo’s Griselda—the long-term success of rap collectives in the new millennium has been rare. | | |
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| Pat Blashill’s photo book “Texas Is the Reason” captures the energy and anarchy of Austin’s burgeoning scene between 1979 and 1987. | | |
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| The multimedia hub’s founder talks about how she created a home for the music of Southwest Asian and North African regions. | | |
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| With a voice by turns soaring and haunting, Shajarian was considered one of his nation's treasures -- and then ran afoul of the regime. He died Thursday in Tehran at age 80. | | |
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| ‘I don’t agree with anything that comes with seeing Iran as our enemy,’ says singer Liraz Charhi. | | |
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| They sent talkshow host Dick Cavett fleeing with his fingers in his ears and blasted Ed Sullivan with Haitian Fight Song. Fifty years on, the Jazz and People’s Movement are still fighting to be heard. | | |
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| How the Houston legend used greatly extended song lengths and long instrumental sequences to give producers their well-deserved shine. | | |
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| | | | | | | From "Silver Ladders," out today on Ghostly International. |
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| © Copyright 2020, The REDEF Group |
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