#Chris Eggertsen

[chorusfm]

Merch Company SCP Owes Millions

Chris Eggertsen, writing for Billboard: Illinois-based merch company SCP owes more than $4 million to over 300 clients including Mitski and Brent Faiyaz after abruptly shutting down operations last week, according to internal documents obtained by Billboard. And with plans to file for chapter 7 bankruptcy on Friday, it’s unlikely those clients will ever recover all the money they’re owed.  Some of SCP’s other clients included Father John Misty, Chappell Roan, T-Pain, Finneas, Brand New and Carly Rae Jepsen; record labels Loma Vista Recordings and Triple Crown Records; Pharrell Williams‘ Something in the Water music festival; and online content creators such as the Dungeons & Daddies podcast and YouTubers Team Edge.   --- Please consider becoming a member so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/linked/merch-company-scp-owes-millions/

[elceeu2morrow]

Billboard Announces New Chart Rules: No More Merch & Ticket Bundles

7/13/2020 by Chris Eggertsen

It has also changed how sales are counted for not-yet-manufactured physical albums delivered at a later date.

Billboard is changing the rules to its Billboard 200, Hot 100 and other album and song charts. The announcement comes in an effort to rectify how sales are counted with respect to album bundles with merchandise and concert tickets, as well as instant digital sales attached to purchases for physical albums delivered at a later date.  

On the issue of bundling, the latest rule changes supersede a number of others that were previously instituted in January. Those included a requirement that albums bundled with merchandise be available for purchase concurrently and individually on the same website, as well as a requirement that merchandise sold on its own be priced lower than bundles that included the album. Additionally, merchandise/album bundles could only be sold on an artist’s official direct-to-consumer web store and not via third-party sites.

Now, Billboard -- in an acknowledgement that those measures have fallen short of the intended goal of accurately reflecting consumer intent -- has decided to eliminate the practice of counting albums bundled with merchandise and concert tickets on its album and song charts altogether.

Under the new rules, which will be implemented at a start date to be announced, all albums bundled with either merchandise or concert tickets must be promoted as an add-on to those purchases in order to be counted on the charts. Those included as part of a baked-in, single-price option (along with the merchandise or ticket), with the album cost undisclosed to the consumer, will no longer be counted. It is Billboard’s belief that the resulting charts will more accurately reflect consumer choice.

In addition, Billboard will no longer allow sales of physical albums or singles that are bundled with digital downloads to be reported as digital sales, thereby eliminating the practice of “spontaneous” non-manufactured items being used to influence first-week chart rankings. Only when the physical item -- ostensibly what the consumer is buying -- is shipped, will it be counted in Billboard’s official tallies.

The practice of selling vinyl, CDs and other physical releases that won’t be manufactured and shipped to consumers for weeks or months -- while offering a digital download that can be redeemed instantly -- has become widespread as of late, with artists including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and 6ix9ine all recently using the tactic to boost their chart positions. The latest rule changes will render that tactic ineffectual.

Billboard is implementing these changes to address widespread concerns that an accurate measure of consumer intent -- which has been the basis of the Billboard charts since their inception -- is being undermined by increasingly-common bundling practices. The new guidelines will better ensure that Billboard chart rankings more accurately reflect the conscious purchasing decisions of consumers and level the playing field for all artists.

Though the sales strategy of bundling albums goes back decades, more recently it has been employed by artists and labels to try and boost album sales, which have been continually falling over the last several years but are worth considerably more than streams on the charts. In 2019, overall album sales dropped 18.7%, making it the fourth year in a row where album sales dropped by at least 10%.

Despite the latest rule changes on album bundling, Billboard will continue to work with the industry to reflect merchandise sales within existing charts such as the Artist 100, as well as potential merchandise-specific charts down the line.

[makistar2018]

What Are Masters and Why Do Taylor Swift & Other Artists Keep Fighting for Them?

July 3, 2019 by Chris Eggertsen

An explainer and brief timeline of other marquee stars — from Prince to Frank Ocean and beyond — who have struggled to gain control.

As this week’s fracas between Taylor Swift and Big Machine label head Scott Borchetta has shown, ownership of an artist’s master recordings is a sensitive issue -- particularly with a catalog is as valuable as Swift’s. But the country-turned-pop superstar is far from the first musician to battle with her label over master rights.

A master is the original sound recording of a piece of music -- as opposed to the composition itself -- and whatever entity or person owns those rights exercises broad power over how that recording is used. Often in tandem with composition rights holder (the songwriters or a publisher who has purchased the copyright from them), the master rights holder has the power to grant third-party licenses for that recording -- from streaming and vinyl records to its use in film, TV, commercials and public performances. Proceeds from those licenses are then split between the owner of the master (who pays out a previously agreed-upon percentage of that revenue to the artist) and the composition's copyright holders.

There are a couple of reasons, then, why an artist would be keen to own their masters, which are almost always controlled by artist's label (in Swift’s case, Big Machine) in exchange for promotion and financial support during the recording process. Not only does that ownership allow the owner to collect on royalties for sales and uses of the master sound recording, but they exercise full control over how and where it is used. As such, labels haven't been known to give those rights up easily.

Just ask Swift. After declining to sign a new deal with Big Machine that she claims would have awarded her rights back to her masters one album at a time -- earning one old album for every new one she released -- the singer said Borchetta failed to notify her about the label's pending sale to Ithaca Holdings, whose majority stakeholders include A-list manager and so-called Swift "bully" Scooter Braun. Had she been informed of the sale ahead of time, Swift indicates she may have been compelled to make a counter-bid for her masters, which make up a significant portion of Big Machine’s total worth. (Borchetta has disputed various elements of Swift's claims here, including the proposed contract terms and when she found out about the Ithaca deal.)  

The history of major artists attempting to regain control of their masters is checkered and success often comes with a hefty price tag. Here are some of the more recent incidents where stars have made a play for those rights, both publicly and behind closed doors.

1993: Prince

Before Swift, Prince was the artist most known for battling with a record label over control of his master recordings. In his case, the label was Warner Bros. Records, which released the iconic artist's first 18 albums, including such monster hits as Purple Rain and 1999. With his frustration over a perceived lack of artistic control mounting, in 1993 The Purple One went public with his campaign by changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol (also known as the "Love Symbol") in hopes that the change would make the terms of his contract unenforceable. Once it became clear that his ploy wouldn’t work, the singer-songwriter began appearing in public with the word “slave” written on his cheek.

Upon exiting his deal with Warner Bros., Prince released his next album -- the aptly-titled Emancipation -- on EMI and his own NPG Records. In subsequent years he would go on to release music on a variety of different labels, from Arista to Columbia to Universal, and he even offered his 1997 Crystal Ball box set directly to fans via phone and internet preorders. After re-signing with Warner in 2014 to release new music, as well as a 30th anniversary edition of Purple Rain, he finally regained the rights to his master recordings released under the label after a more than two-decade standoff.

1996: Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson’s blockbuster deals with Virgin Records in the 1990s were arguably the shrewdest of that decade in music. The multi-platinum star made headlines with her 1991 contract that was worth a reported $40 million, but then doubled down with a subsequent 1996 deal reportedly valued at $80 million. That latter deal was not just worth twice as much in advances, but also awarded her ownership of her masters seven years after the end of the contract, which was fulfilled following the release of her 2006 album, 20 Y.O. Even for an artist of Jackson’s stature, this counted as an exceptionally rare coup.

2001: Courtney Love

Courtney Love’s battle with Universal Music Group erupted in 2000, when the label sued the rocker for refusing to deliver on five albums they'd contracted with her band Hole. The following year, Love counter-sued, claiming that the long-term record contract she had originally signed violated the California statute that says entertainers cannot be tied to any one company for longer than seven years.

That fight broadened when Love filed a second lawsuit against UMG -- as well as Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, her late husband Kurt Cobain’s surviving Nirvana bandmates -- in October 2001 for control of Nirvana’s master recordings. In addition to accusing UMG of cheating the band out of over $3 million in royalties, she claimed that its label Geffen Records was not the same one it had signed with in 1991 due to Geffen’s subsequent acquisition by Vivendi Universal. Love ultimately settled with UMG in 2002 without regaining the Nirvana master rights, though she has most recently sued the label again as part of a putative class-action suit over the Universal Studios backlot fire that allegedly destroyed the very master recordings she had once fought so hard to control.

2004: Jay-Z

Jay-Z’s ownership of his masters was won not through any court battle but rather as a condition of his signing a new contract with his label Def Jam Recordings -- this time as president and CEO of the company. Even though he left that post in 2007 and the next year launched Roc Nation as a joint-venture with Live Nation, under the terms of his employement agreement with Def Jam his masters reverted back to his control in 2014. The next year, he launched TIDAL, as the exclusive online platform to stream his music. 

2012: Metallica

Metallica leveraged their status as heavy metal gods with millions of albums sold for Warner Music Group subsidiary Elektra Records to sign a joint venture with WMG in 1994 that returned rights to all their master recordings in November 2012. Upon announcing that those rights had officially reverted back, the band unveiled their own label Blackened Recordings, which now handles all of Metallica’s releases via distribution agreements with WMG's Rhino in North America and UMG internationally.

2014: U2

In a 2014 interview with Billboard, U2’s former manager Paul McGuinness revealed that the rock icons had acquired 100% of the masters to all their work in a deal financed by Live Nation, with whom the band signed a 12-year deal in 2008.

2016: Rihanna

Following the creation of her own Westbury Road Entertainment imprint under the Roc Nation banner in 2015, Rihanna managed to acquire the masters of all her previous albums from her former label Def Jam. Though no price tag was reported, given the value of the Barbadian singer’s catalog the cost was no doubt formidable.

2016: Frank Ocean

In his own deal with Def Jam to puchase his masters (which also included him buying out the remainder of his contract), Ocean also won the right to self-release his platinum-selling 2016 album Blonde. In a subsequent interview with The New York Times, he described his relationship with his former label as a "seven-year chess game."

2019: David Johansen, John Waite, Southside Johnny, Paul Collins and Joe Ely

In February of this year, two class-action suits were filed against UMG and Sony Music by a number of prominent musicians, including New York Dolls’ David Johansen and former Bad English frontman John Waite, for “routinely and systematically” failing to honor notices of termination aimed at regaining rights to their masters under section 203 of the Copyright Act of 1976. Under that section, artists are given the opportunity to terminate a label’s ownership of sound recordings beginning 35 years after their release.

In addition to their own claims, the plaintiffs -- which also include New Jersey blues-rocker Southside Johnny, former Nerves drummer Paul Collins and Joe Ely -- are also seeking declaratory relief that sound recordings can’t ever be considered “works made for hire,” which under the law would give labels rights to an artist's masters in perpetuity. As the plantiffs allege, that is exactly the argument UMG and Sony have made in refusing to honor their requests.

Billboard

[slowlyteenagestarlight]

Doctors who explain clearly why vaccines aren't safe or effective.

1. Dr. Nancy Banks - http://bit.ly/1Ip0aIm

2. Dr. Russell Blaylock - http://bit.ly/1BXxQZL

3. Dr. Shiv Chopra - http://bit.ly/1gdgh1s

4. Dr. Sherri Tenpenny - http://bit.ly/1MPVbjx

5. Dr. Suzanne Humphries - http://bit.ly/17sKDbf

6. Dr. Larry Palevsky - http://bit.ly/1LLEjf6

7. Dr. Toni Bark - http://bit.ly/1CYM9RB

8. Dr. Andrew Wakefield - http://bit.ly/1MuyNzo

9. Dr. Meryl Nass - http://bit.ly/1DGzJsc

10. Dr. Raymond Obomsawin - http://bit.ly/1G9ZXYl

11. Dr. Ghislaine Lanctot - http://bit.ly/1MrVeUL

12. Dr. Robert Rowen - http://bit.ly/1SIELeF

13. Dr. David Ayoub - http://bit.ly/1SIELve

14. Dr. Boyd Haley PhD - http://bit.ly/1KsdVby

15. Dr. Rashid Buttar - http://bit.ly/1gWOkL6

16. Dr. Roby Mitchell - http://bit.ly/1gdgEZU

17. Dr. Ken Stoller - http://bit.ly/1MPVqLI

18. Dr. Mayer Eisenstein - http://bit.ly/1LLEqHH

19. Dr. Frank Engley, PhD - http://bit.ly/1OHbLDI

20. Dr. David Davis - http://bit.ly/1gdgJwo

21. Dr Tetyana Obukhanych - http://bit.ly/16Z7k6J

22. Dr. Harold E Buttram - http://bit.ly/1Kru6Df

23. Dr. Kelly Brogan - http://bit.ly/1D31pfQ

24. Dr. RC Tent - http://bit.ly/1MPVwmu

25. Dr. Rebecca Carley - http://bit.ly/K49F4d

26. Dr. Andrew Moulden - http://bit.ly/1fwzKJu

27. Dr. Jack Wolfson - http://bit.ly/1wtPHRA

28. Dr. Michael Elice - http://bit.ly/1KsdpKA

29. Dr. Terry Wahls - http://bit.ly/1gWOBhd

30. Dr. Stephanie Seneff - http://bit.ly/1OtWxAY

31. Dr. Paul Thomas - http://bit.ly/1DpeXPf

32. Many doctors talking at once - http://bit.ly/1MPVHOv

33. Dr. Richard Moskowitz - censored

34. Dr. Jane Orient - http://bit.ly/1MXX7pb

35. Dr. Richard Deth - http://bit.ly/1GQDL10

36. Dr. Lucija Tomljenovic - http://bit.ly/1eqiPr5

37. Dr Chris Shaw - http://bit.ly/1IlGiBp

38. Dr. Susan McCreadie - http://bit.ly/1CqqN83

39. Dr. Mary Ann Block - http://bit.ly/1OHcyUX

40. Dr. David Brownstein - http://bit.ly/1EaHl9A

41. Dr. Jayne Donegan - http://bit.ly/1wOk4Zz

42. Dr. Troy Ross - censored

43. Dr. Philip Incao - http://bit.ly/1ghE7sS

44. Dr. Joseph Mercola - http://bit.ly/18dE38I

45. Dr. Jeff Bradstreet - http://bit.ly/1MaX0cC

46. Dr. Robert Mendelson - http://bit.ly/1JpAEQr

47. Dr Theresa Deisher https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=6Bc6WX33SuE

48. Dr. Sam Eggertsen-https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8LB-3xkeDAE

Hundreds more doctors testifying that vaccines aren't safe or effective, in these documentaries....

1. Vaccination - The Silent Epidemic - http://bit.ly/1vvQJ2W

2. The Greater Good - http://bit.ly/1icxh8j

3. Shots In The Dark - http://bit.ly/1ObtC8h

4. Vaccination The Hidden Truth - http://bit.ly/KEYDUh

5. Vaccine Nation - http://bit.ly/1iKNvpU

6. Vaccination - The Truth About Vaccines - http://bit.ly/1vlpwvU

7. Lethal Injection - http://bit.ly/1URN7BJ

8. Bought - http://bit.ly/1M7YSlr

9. Deadly Immunity - http://bit.ly/1KUg64Z

10. Autism - Made in the USA - http://bit.ly/1J8WQN5

11. Beyond Treason - http://bit.ly/1B7kmvt

12. Trace Amounts - http://bit.ly/1vAH3Hv

13. Why We Don't Vaccinate - http://bit.ly/1KbXhuf

9 hour court case

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DFTsd042M3o

Documentaries...

1. Vaccination - The Silent Epidemic(2013)

- http://bit.ly/1vvQJ2W

2. The Greater Good - (2011)

https://youtu.be/VxR8XQHc0A0

3. Shots In The Dark -(2009)

http://bit.ly/1ObtC8h

4. Vaccination The Hidden Truth -(1998)

http://bit.ly/KEYDUh

5. Vaccine Nation - (2008)

https://youtu.be/bLk641P8CE4

6. Vaccination - The Truth About Vaccines -

http://bit.ly/1vlpwvU

7. Lethal Injection - http://bit.ly/1URN7BJ

8. Bought - (2015)

https://youtu.be/HrgkKREhQrs

https://youtu.be/_9nre8AMe5I

9. Deadly Immunity - (2005)

http://bit.ly/1KUg64Z

10. Autism - Made in the USA(2009)

- http://bit.ly/1J8WQN5

11. Beyond Treason - (2005)

http://bit.ly/1B7kmvt

12. Trace Amounts - (2014)

http://bit.ly/1vAH3Hv

13. Why We Don't Vaccinate -

https://youtu.be/WjiFrTnWiK4

14. Autism Yesterday - (2010)

http://bit.ly/1URU2A7

@PatriotAlerts

@WeThePatriotic 🇺🇸

[alinevida]

#Repost @alineandwes ・・・ It’s a victory for songwriters and creators alike. We spend a lot of time and money creating our art. This act offers a layer of protection. “The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act passed 410-6 in the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday evening (Oct. 22). It now goes to the Senate for a vote before it can become law.  If successful, the CASE Act will create a copyright claims board within the U.S. Copyright Office to rule on small claims infringement cases where damages would be capped at $15,000 per claim and $30,000 total.  The bill would give independent creators a practical way to enforce their rights without the burden of hiring an attorney to fight the infringement in federal court. Cases would be decided by a three-judge panel of subject matter experts inside the Copyright Office, who will hear only straightforward cases of alleged infringement. It includes a provision in which the Copyright Office will monitor the process in order to ensure it is not being used as a tool of harassment, according a recent House press release.” https://www.billboard.com/author/chris-eggertsen-8463360 #copyright #copyrightinfringement #songwriters #thecaseact #copyrights (at United States) https://www.instagram.com/p/B394KGopr-q/?igshid=1rmvq5rkyfjym

[alineandwes]

It’s a victory for songwriters and creators alike. We spend a lot of time and money creating our art. This act offers a layer of protection. “The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act passed 410-6 in the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday evening (Oct. 22). It now goes to the Senate for a vote before it can become law.  If successful, the CASE Act will create a copyright claims board within the U.S. Copyright Office to rule on small claims infringement cases where damages would be capped at $15,000 per claim and $30,000 total.  The bill would give independent creators a practical way to enforce their rights without the burden of hiring an attorney to fight the infringement in federal court. Cases would be decided by a three-judge panel of subject matter experts inside the Copyright Office, who will hear only straightforward cases of alleged infringement. It includes a provision in which the Copyright Office will monitor the process in order to ensure it is not being used as a tool of harassment, according a recent House press release.” https://www.billboard.com/author/chris-eggertsen-8463360 #copywriting #copywritten #songwriters #thecaseact (at United States) https://www.instagram.com/p/B392_oRJqXd/?igshid=yhfoix8k685c

[banjooxygen68-blog]

Paramount Ranch, destroyed in Woolsey Fire, will be rebuilt

Paramount Ranch, largely destroyed by the destructive Woolsey Fire, is no longer standing. But state and local officials promised Friday that it will be back.

“Let’s today begin to make that commitment to restore this place,” said state Assemblymember Richard Bloom, speaking at a press conference to announce a new fundraising initiative to restore the Western film set in the Santa Monica Mountains.

“It is so important to the history, not just right here of this spot and the Paramount Ranch, but really, to the industry that it’s so much a part of,” he said.

Behind Bloom, the town’s Main Street and three neighboring park homes lay in ruins, charred heaps of ash and rubble lying beneath twisted, burnt metal.

Miraculously, the town’s small white chapel, which has been featured prominently in the HBO series Westworld, and train station were unscathed, likely thanks to their distance from the other buildings.

The Santa Monica Mountains Fund, a non-profit that supports the park, aims to have the set completely rebuilt within two years with backing from Hollywood studios, according to David Szymanski, superintendent of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

But some adjustments will have to be made.

“I think it’ll be a variation on what was here,” said Sara Horner, president of the nonprofit’s board, who noted that several people in the entertainment community have already reached out to help.

“There are new building guidelines that we’ll have to abide by,” she said. “And then we’d like to make whatever renovations or changes would be possible to make it more useful to the local film community.”

State Assemblymember Richard Bloom.

Chris Eggertsen

The ranch isn’t merely a filming location. It’s also a popular venue for weddings and other events. Szymanski said park officials want to rebuild it with that in mind.

“One of the things is, the sound barn and the pavilion are great event spaces,” Szymanski told Curbed. “We’ll probably do some things both inside and out…[to] make them better event spaces, that will help us to still work for filming.”

In the meantime, Szymanski and Horner noted that a temporary set will be built on the other side of bordering Medea Creek so studios can continue to take advantage of the area.

Perhaps no one who spoke at yesterday’s event was more personally affected than Agoura Hills City Councilmember Linda Northrup, who grew up in the town of nearly 21,000 and recalled how the ranch was a popular destination for her and her friends as teenagers.

“When we got in fights with our parents, we’d go take a hike, and we had this place to come take a hike to,” said Northrup. “All my sisters’ wedding photos are at the Western Town. And I gotta tell you, when we got the news [from] Emergency Ops that this town was gone, a piece of my heart really hurt.”

True to its name, Paramount Ranch was established in 1927 by Paramount Pictures, which built a number of standing sets there, including a replica of early San Francisco.

After it was sold off in the early 1950s, the property changed hands numerous times, but a permanent Old West set remained a popular destination for Hollywood location shooting. Movies and TV shows filmed at the ranch include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, American Sniper, The Lake House, The Great Outdoors, The Mentalist, and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

Standing in front of the remains of the town, Horner told Curbed that prior to the Woolsey Fire, plans to protect the ranch from fires had already been in the works.

“Ironically, the Park Service already had a design plan in place that was a utility upgrade for the site, which would have had water here,” she said, with a sad smile. “Which we don’t have.”

Source: https://la.curbed.com/2018/11/19/18100473/paramount-ranch-woolsey-fire-rebuild-photos

[newsnomadblog]

The American Federation of Musicians' pension fund to reduce benefits for 20,000 members

The American Federation of Musicians’ pension fund to reduce benefits for 20,000 members

28 May 2019 |Chris Eggertsen| Billboard

The American Federation of Musicians’ pension fund has reached “critical and declining” status under federal law.

Roughly 20,000 members of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) union will soon see a reduction in their pension benefits to prevent insolvency for the organization’s $1.8 billion pension fund (AFM-EPF), trustees revealed to participants…

[mklopez]

'Altered Carbon': Inside the Drama's 15-Year Road to Netflix Chris Eggertsen, hollywoodreporter.com

Showrunner Laeta Kalogridis talks with THR about claims of whitewashing, the portrayal of women and key changes from the source material.

After a 15-year path to the screen, Altered Carbon will …

Altered Carbon's showrunner Laeta Kalogridis talks about claims of whitewashing, the portrayal of women and key changes from the source material.

[maxwellyjordan]

Intellectual property law roundup

The ethics (and law) of emergencies: heroic efforts to shore up medical equipment on the run, such as using 3-D printing to supply a missing ventilator valve in an Italian hospital, can run into knotty problems of IP rights [Jay Peters, The Verge]

“Plaintiff recognizes that the community is in the midst of a ‘coronavirus pandemic.’ But Plaintiff argues that it will suffer an ‘irreparable injury’ if this Court does not hold a hearing this week and immediately put a stop to the infringing unicorns and the knock-off elves…. The world is facing a real emergency. Plaintiff is not.” [Lowering the Bar on federal Northern District of Illinois case]

As churches scramble to shift their worship services online, a gnawing question: are you sure you have the right to stream that song of praise? [The Gospel Coalition] Beating hasty retreat, Disney apologizes for having sought $250 licensing fine against arents at California school who’d screened “Lion King” video to entertain kids during PTA event [Nat Orenstein, Berkeleyside; Isabel McCormick, ScreenRant]

“It’s still early in 2020. But this is my vote for most annoying copyright complaint so far: a map (thin copyright!) shown (apparently only in passing; I haven’t watched yet) in the background of a movie that not only flopped but did so 8 years ago” [Zahr Said on coverage by Kyle Jahner, Bloomberg Law]

Jury awards $1 billion to music labels against cable and internet giant Cox, after claims it didn’t do enough to combat infringement by its users [Chris Eggertsen, Billboard]

“Newspaper Can Talk About ‘Derby Pies’ Without Infringing Trademarks–Rupp v. Courier Journal” [Eric Goldman; my Cato podcast on that subject with Caleb Brown back in 2016]

“Musicians Algorithmically Generate Every Possible Melody, Release Them to Public Domain” [Samantha Cole, Vice “Motherboard”]

Tags: churches, copyright, Kentucky, movies film and videos, music and musicians, trademarks

from Law http://www.overlawyered.com/2020/03/intellectual-property-law-roundup-3/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[99percentmedia-blog1]

Recording Academy Diversity Task Force "Deeply Disappointed" Over Failure to Make "Constructive Change"

Read this top story @ https://99percentmedia.org/recording-academy-diversity-task-force-deeply-disappointed-over-failure-to-make-constructive-change/

Recording Academy Diversity Task Force "Deeply Disappointed" Over Failure to Make "Constructive Change"

Recording Academy Diversity Task Force “Deeply Disappointed” Over Failure to Make “Constructive Change” 6:53 PM PST 1/23/2020 by Chris Eggertsen, Billboard FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME The group is calling on the organization’s board of trustees to implement “systemic changes.” With multiple allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination leveled by Recording Academy president and CEO Deborah Dugan this week sending shockwaves through the … News story posted on 2020-01-24T03:13:00.0000000Z

[nahoo883]

Jury finds Cox Communications liable for its customers' piracy of 10,000+ musical works, awards $1B to Sony Music, EMI, Universal, and Warner Music (Chris Eggertsen/Billboard)

Chris Eggertsen / Billboard: Jury finds Cox Communications liable for its customers' piracy of 10,000+ musical works, awards $1B to Sony Music, EMI, Universal, and Warner Music  —  Cox Communications was found liable for piracy infringement of more than 10,000 musical works by a U.S. District Court jury in Virgina on Thursday …

from Techmeme https://ift.tt/34EO8ZF via IFTTT from Blogger https://ift.tt/2sIQOYU via IFTTT

[joooooy1222-blog]

Remixed music on TikTok

According to Wikipedia, TikTok is a social media video app for creating and sharing short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos. The Chinese developer ByteDance has previously launched Douyin (Chinese: 抖音) for the China market in September 2016. The application allows users to create short music and lip-sync videos of 3 to 15 seconds and short looping videos of 3 to 60 seconds.

The short videos that we see every day are generally divided into two categories. One is self-created, including short albums, short scenes, skill-sharing, and so on. The other is to edit and remix others’ videos and make a new one, including re-edited movies, reshooting and more.

Almost every video contains music, such as background music or cover version of existing songs. As Chris Eggertsen said:

“While TikTok bills itself as a video-sharing app rather than a music service, music has become a key component of its brand -- particularly as the platform has lately driven the success of a number of tracks.” 

And people have different opinions about remix music in videos.

One of the opponents said like this:

“TikTok is built primarily around lipsynching to copyrighted audio, including content created by independent creators…. that’s privacy violation and copyright infringement, and that’s the real reason why you shouldn’t use TikTok.”

 However, TikTok has little motivation to bear many burdens. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) puts the onus on users rather than tech companies to report copyright violations.

And according to TikTok ‘s intellectual property policy，“We do not allow any content that infringes copyright. ” .

To be specific， people need to submit a copyright infringement notification if they found their copyright-protected work was posted on TikTok, then any user content that infringes on other person’s copyright may be removed, and their account may be suspended or terminated.

As for an online content sharing platform like TikTok, rather than other commercial music markets, I think the “Notice-and-takedown” Rule for remixed content is enough for copyright protection for the following reasons:

    1. Many music works (such as “Steppin”, “Ride It”)become more famous after being adapted or remade. Some original authors do not intend to defend their rights, and even feel happy about someone else remixing their songs. When the right holder does not intend to make anyone be held accountable. does it mean that the problem is not serious enough to increase the obligation to the platform or user?

    2. People usually use this platform for entertainment purposes, excessive intellectual property protection can hinder the creation of ordinary people. 

Concluding, although copyright infringement occurs more frequently when the liability of the online platform or users is too light or the cost of infringement is too low, it is also the case that encourages the creation. 

As Mary Rahmani, TikTok’s director of music content and artist relations,  said in an email:

“TikTok empowers artists by being an avenue for visual output and creativity,” “We offer a platform that is creative, collaborative, global and unique.”

[chorusfm]

Yellowcard Suing Juice WRLD

Chris Eggertsen, writing at Billboard: According to a complaint filed Monday (Oct. 21) in U.S. District Court in California, former Yellowcard members William Ryan Key, Peter Michael Mosely, Longineu Warren Parsons and Sean Michael Wellman-Mackin allege Juice WLRD and his collaborators copied “melodic elements” from their 2006 song “Holly Wood Died” for the rapper’s blockbuster 2018 single without permission. They’re asking for damages in excess of $15 million and a “running royalty and/or ownership share” on all future exploitations related to the song or, alternatively, statutory damages “for each act of copyright infringement” and for defendants to be “permanently enjoined” from exploiting “Lucid Dreams” in the future. And: Yellowcard’s attorney, Richard Busch, issued a statement about the lawsuit in which he explained, “This was not a lawsuit the guys wanted to file. They put all of the parties on notice a long while ago and gave them every opportunity to try to resolve it. That notice was pretty much ignored leaving them with no real choice. As alleged in the Complaint, this is not just a generic Emo Rap song, but is a blatant copy of significant original compositional elements of Holly Wood Died in several respects. Beyond that, everything we have to say is in the Complaint. --- Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/linked/yellowcard-suing-juice-wrld/

[hansgroheshower]

10050 Cielo Drive - 1969

10050 Cielo Drive – 1969

A few nice bathroom modern design images I found:

10050 Cielo Drive – 1969 Image by encanto_sunland The Cielo Drive house stood for more than five decades but is forever connected to the Manson family’s 1969 killing spree.

By Chris Eggertsen@chrisjeggertsen Jun 6, 2018

In 1993, the French Normandy-style house at 10050 Cielo Drive, a dead-end street about halfway up Benedict Canyon in Beverly…

[kevin-hart-feed-nonissue-blog]

Will Ferrell on his shocking 'Get Hard' moment: 'It's the riskiest thing I've ever done'

http://kevinhartfeed.nonissue.com/2015/03/09/will-ferrell-on-his-shocking-get-hard-moment-its-the-riskiest-thing-ive-ever-done/ - #KevinHart

Will Ferrell on his shocking 'Get Hard' moment: 'It's the riskiest thing I've ever done'

HitFix sits down with Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell and director Etan Cohen on the set of the upcoming comedy Get Hard.