Mental Health Toolkit for Musicians and their loved onesThe unpredictability of a musician’s life can be taxing on everyone involved, so here are some mental health resources to keep everyone in their best mind. by SHANNON SILVER of. Continue reading
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The Legal Beat: Nickelback Prevails In Copyright Case Over “Rockstar”In the never ending torrent of copyright cases involving the music industry, a judge recently dismissed a claim filed against Canadian rock band Nickelback and their music publisher, Warner Chappell Music Inc. The lawsuit asserted that Nickelback copied its 2005 hit “Rockstar” from an earlier 2001 tune similarly entitled “Rock Star” by a Texas group called Snowblind Revival. The lead singer of Snowblind Revival, Kirk Johnson, wrote the song. He claimed the Nickelback song had misappropriated substantial portions of his song, including the “tempo, song form, melodic structure, harmonic structures and lyrical themes.” 

Federal magistrate judges handle certain matters for district court judges. In this case Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower recommended that the lawsuit be dismissed with prejudice. Judge Robert Pitman of the US District Court agreed and dismissed the case.

Judge Pitman held the songs just do not sound similar, ruling that “Simply stated, they do not sound alike…Where both songs evoke similar themes, they are rendered dissimilar through the vivid detail of the original expression in Nickelback’s lyrics.”

Lead singer Kirk Johnson of Snowblind Revival claimed the songs had many similar lyrics about making lots of money, lifestyles of rock stars and having well known friends.  However, Judge Pitman held that after reviewing the subject lyrics, that contention at times “borders on the absurd.” The judge noted:

“This includes, for example, any suggestion that the two baseball analogies in Nickelback’s work are evidence that the band copied Johnston’s lyrics ‘might buy the Cowboys’ professional football team simply because both are ‘references to sports’”.

Judge Pitman ruled that the only real similarities were basic clichés “outlandish stereotypes and images associated with being a huge, famous rock star” that do not belong to any songwriter. The judge referred to 17 other songs that had similar themes about rock stars, such as the 1966 hit by the Byrds  “So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll star” or Poison’s 2001 song “Rockstar.”

Judge Pitman agreed with the magistrate judge who  held that Johnston’s contention that Nickelback had access to the song via third parties was “purely speculative.” 

Judge Pitman ruled that the plaintiff had failed to prove that Nickelback had “access” to his song which is a requirement in a typical copyright infringement case. The judge held that the plaintiff failed to provide evidence that Nickelback had ever heard his song. If a plaintiff cannot prove access then he or she would have to prove that the two songs were “strikingly similar”, a much higher standard than if one can prove access.

The judge concluded “The court has conducted a side-by-side examination of the works, carefully listening to and considering all versions of the songs or record… As an ‘ordinary listener’, the court concludes that a layman would not consider the songs or even their ‘hooks’ to be strikingly similar.”

Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood, SoundCloud’s Chief Content and Marketing Officer, exits companyWirtzer-Seawood joined SoundCloud in June 2021, hired by then-CEO, Michael Weismann
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SoundCloud’s new ‘Fans’ tool lets artists DM their superfansFans is currently in beta with over 10,000 artists, including Warner Music Group artists
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Are TuneCore, CD Baby, DistroKid & Symphonic blocking AI Music?Music created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) comes in almost infinite forms, from light-touch songwriting aids to full-blown “Fake Drake” style deep fake tracks. At a time when AI is the. Continue reading
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Live streams won’t steal ticket sales, but social just might [MIDiA’s Tatiana Cirisano]TikTok live streamers have been erasing the exclusivity of in-person concerts, is this going to boost or hurt the live music industry? by Tatiana Cirisano of MIDiA Research Frank Ocean’s. Continue reading
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This AI music ‘spawning’ demo is mind-blowing [MUST WATCH]Imagine using AI to “re-record” a song in multiple languages. What if vocal range were no longer a barrier to creation? The practice that makes both possible is called spawning,. Continue reading
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Last week in music industry commentaryLast week, commentators in the thick of the industry shared their opinions and thoughts on SiriusXM, the many roles of an artist manager, Beatles AI, music investing, and more… Is. Continue reading
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Getting It Done: The Week in D.I.Y. & Indie MusicThis week, our tips and advice for the independent, do-it-yourselfers out there covered how to navigate a record deal, the 101 off EPKs, and more… Beginners guide to Vevo For. Continue reading
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REWIND: The New Music Industry’s Week in ReviewA busy week by any definition, the music industry was no exception, with Google introducing new AI, Boygenius’ influence of folk-pop, and more… Live Nation offers $25 all-in tickets to. Continue reading
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Artist to Artist: Book Your Own ShowsBooking yourself isn’t hard. But the work is definitely not cut out for everyone. It is a relentless grind that is full of rejections, and a constant wondering about whether it was ever worth the time spent. But if you keep at it… it totally is! In the following article, Nashville-based artist Canaan Cox shares his hard-won advice with you:

At first, all I knew is that I wanted to play anywhere for anyone who would listen. Legitimately found a hot restaurant in my hometown of Hendersonville, NC, saw they had an electrical outlet on their patio, and asked if I could come play there one evening. They said yes and all I asked in return was a plate of food. I took that same mentality with me to Nashville when I was done with the Broadway scene. Here’s what I did.

1) Make a One Sheet. Doesn’t matter how elegant it is. Just make one. If you don’t know what it is, Google it.

2) In your notes or word doc, write a generic email stating who you are, what kind of music you play, and attach your socials / music links.

3) Google “Live music in Wherever, State.” Go to their website, MOST of them will have a booking email. The ones that don’t, go to their socials.

4) Either on their emails or socials, copy and paste your email, attach one sheet. Rinse and repeat.

I used to (still do) sit in coffee shops from opening to close looking up every bar, grill, cider house, you name it, to see if they’d want live music. In the beginning it was actually easier as you could convince most spots to let you play for $100-$200 plus a meal in the corner to play some music. And that’s how I booked my first acoustic tour in 2017 touring the Midwest and everywhere along the East Coast from New York City to Charleston, SC with over 250 shows a year.

It was a grind. It was me, my guitar, 1 small Alto Professional speaker and mic stand in the back of a Ford Ranger. I remember one gig in Illinois — they set me up right beside the men’s toilet at the back of the bar so everyone's back was facing away from me. You pay your dues for sure but as some shows were like that, I was building a fan base in others. Now, some of those $150, 3 hour cover gigs turn into a couple grand, original, 90 minute sets!

I’m well over playing cover gigs now, but the hustle remains the same to book the original shows. The only thing that’s changed is my one sheet, the info in the email, and the check at the end of the night.

HELPFUL TIPS:

Create an email that’s like BookingName@gmail.com and pretend to be someone else who

books you.

Look at the venue's calendar ahead of time and request to play dates that are open. They’re

more likely to get back to you if they know what they’re looking for.

For timing sake, have everything in a folder on computer that way when you’re copy and

pasting to emails, socials, etc it’s all right there for attaching. By Canaan Cox

About Canaan Cox: North Carolina-native, Nashville-based artist Canaan Cox is the definition of a triple threat: singer/songwriter, actor, and dancer. His music is a fusion of contemporary country, pop, with a touch of rhythm and blues — which comes as no surprise as he grew up in a musically eclectic household. Canaan has not only co-written his songs, but has also created, directed and produced all of his music videos. Since moving to Nashville in 2016, Canaan has been diligently honing his craft while building a loyal fan base. Website: https://www.canaancox.com/

Hal Leonard Releases Vocal Selections FoliosHal Leonard has released two vocal selections from a Tony-topping Broadway hit and a fan-favorite motion picture. Some Like It Hot has lit up Broadway this season and garnered the most Tony Award nominations of any show (13!), including Best Musical and Best Original Score. The official matching folio features 15 infectious songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman arranged with vocal line and piano accompaniment. It retails for $27.99.

The composer-approved Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile vocal selections folio features nine songs from the 2022 musical comedy starring Shawn Mendes as the voice of everyone's favorite singing crocodile. Featuring original songs by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Shawn Mendes, each song is arranged with vocal line and piano accompaniment. It retails for $22.99.

Booth books are available from music and bookstores everywhere or at halleonard.com.

From Ed Sheeran’s court victory to Spotify deleting Boomy uploads… it’s MBW’s Weekly Round-UpThe biggest music biz headlines from the past week, all in one place
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Ticketmaster sold 15,000 tickets per minute at ‘peak sale times’ in North America during Q1 2023Concerts giant Live Nation delivered record results across all its divisions in Q1 2023.
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Spotify to remove historical Artist data, Similar Artists analyticsSpotify has announced that Artist data will only be retained for the past two years plus the year to date across the Spotify for Artists analytics platform. Spotify is also. Continue reading
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